Unfamiliar Spell
by BeaumontRulz
Summary: You want her to show up in that figure-hugging, cleavage-showing dress, you want her to wear it just for your reaction, and you want her to drag you into a small room... 'No,' Hermione thought furiously, her stomach beginning to fill with butterflies. 'I'm married to Ron, I love Ron…' … and kiss you feverishly, quickly removing her dress and yours... HrG
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

**A/N: Wow, second oneshot from me in one night, must be on a roll ;) lol. This was written fairly quickly, and it is un-beta-ed, so please excuse any mistakes made. I read back through it and I can't see any… but oh well.**

**There are probably quite a few of these fics out there (I myself have read at least two lol) but this was an annoying little idea that popped up and wouldn't go away until I wrote it. This is rather naughty, so I wouldn't recommend reading it unless you don't mind reading about masturbation.**

**On that note, I hope you enjoy it :P please review  
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**Unfamiliar Spell**

'… _and tomorrow I _need_ to go shopping for new dress robes. We have that office party to go to, and I know Ron wants me to look fantastic for him. So he can show me off,' _Hermione inwardly rolled her eyes, _'At least Ginny and Harry will be there.'_

Hermione sighed slightly and rolled over to lie on her other side, facing away from the centre of the bed.

"Hermione? You okay?" Ron grunted from the other side of the bed, sounding slightly irritated at the sudden movement.

"Sleeping," Hermione muttered back, sighing to herself and trying to get comfortable.

"Mmm 'night then. Love you."

"You too," she mumbled, feeling that familiar pang of guilt that occurred whenever her husband confessed his love for her. Closing her eyes, she pushed these feelings and thoughts to the back of her mind and tried to sleep.

'_I wonder what Ginny will be wearing,' _Hermione thought, not really paying much attention to what she was thinking. _'I hope the rest of the boys at work don't stare at her too much, I hate men objectifying women.'_

_You mean you hate it when _Ron_ objectifies women._

Hermione frowned at the little voice in her mind, _'He won't stare at his sister though.'_

_No, _you_ will instead._

Hermione bit her lip and deepened the frown as she tried to shut the voice out.

_You want her to show up in that figure-hugging, cleavage-showing dress, you _want_ her to wear it just for your reaction, and you_want_ her to drag you into a small room…_

'_No!' _Hermione thought furiously, her stomach beginning to fill with butterflies, _'I'm married to Ron, I love Ron…'_

… _and kiss you feverishly, quickly removing her dress and yours, and sucking and biting and rubbing and _fucking_…_

Hermione whimpered softly and immediately bit down on her bottom lip, glancing back at Ron. There were soft snores filling the room that Hermione hadn't noticed before, so she sighed in relief.

_She wouldn't snore and keep you awake at night… well she wouldn't keep you awake by snoring at you._

Hermione closed her eyes, breathing deeply, not noticing her free left hand had started tracing small circles around her bare hip.

_She'd back you up against the wall and she'd kiss your lips softly…_

Hermione's fingers were now moving across the base of her stomach, just above the waistline of her pyjama bottoms, trailing fingernails across her skin ever so slightly, evoking goose bumps. Her other hand had slipped down the front of her pyjama top, teasing her left nipple softly, breathing in and out a little faster as she felt the skin around her nipple contract pleasurably.

Feeling a little frustrated at the uncomfortable angle she had her arm at, she rolled onto her back slowly, making sure she didn't wake Ron up, and undid the buttons of her pyjama top. Her fingers returned to her breasts, after quickly licking the tips of them, and started to massage and tug softly.

_Yes, she's licking and nibbling and _sucking_ on you –_

"Mmm," Hermione murmured with her eyes closed, imagining it was Ginny who was playing with her breasts.

– _and moving a hand down to rub you in between your legs, on top of your pants, making you want her even more._

"Yes," she whispered, her hand rubbing her already wet mound, trying not to move too much for fear of waking Ron up.

_She whispers your name, _"Hermione,"_ in a breathless voice, her cheeks flushed with arousal as she looks up at you, moving her hand past your pyjama bottoms to touch dark, wet curls and moves one finger to rub your throbbing clit._

Hermione gasped softly as she touched herself, slightly surprised at how wet she was, after mostly just thinking about Ginny. She bit her lip again as she rubbed her already sensitive clit, desperately trying to control her hips from jerking too violently. Irritated with the elastic of the pyjama bottoms, she quickly slid them down so she could reach more comfortably.

_She rubs you faster, circling around that nub, making you squirm beneath her as she plants wet kisses trailing down towards where her fingers are driving you absolutely _crazy

'_More,'_ Hermione said in her head, watching Ginny slowly move down her body, like a movie playing out in her mind.

_She lowers her face to your inner thigh, kissing the spot right next to where you _need_ her most. She grins, glad to see she's teasing you. You beg her to move her lips over, ever so slightly, to your clit, to lick it and suck it…_

Hermione let out a low, breathy moan, rubbing her clit faster, her other fingers (which were tugging on her nipples) moving down to slip into herself, inserting two fingers and beginning to slide them in and out.

_She slides her fingers in and out, each time hitting that _spot_ that makes you want and need to jerk your hips around and moan her name as loud as you possibly can. She's still licking your clit and that only intensifies the warm feeling that's beginning to rise inside of you._

Feeling herself nearing climax, Hermione rubbed her clit harder and faster and tried desperately to stay still as wave after wave of amazing, self-induced orgasm swept over her. Her hips shuddered and she whimpered softly, saying, "Ginny," as she lifted her hips up in the air while breathing very fast. She swallowed and lowered them back to the bed when they had stopped bucking so violently, and opened her eyes.

There were small beads of sweat on her forehead and above her upper lip, and she wiped the sweat off with the back of her hand. She sighed heavily as she smelt herself on her fingers and glanced at Ron, thanking the heavens he was still snoring softly.

She slowly did the buttons of her pyjama top up and pulled her pyjama bottoms back on, hands resting between her legs as her breathing returned to normal.

She frowned and quietly sat up to get out of bed, going to the bathroom to wash her hands. She splashed some water up on her face and leaned on the sink, staring at herself in the mirror.

'_I just fucked myself, thinking about Ginny fucking me,'_ Hermione thought, frowning at herself.

_And you _loved_ every second of it,_ the little voice in the back of her mind said.

Hermione sighed; yes, the thrill of thinking about her best friend's wife and her husband's sister fucking her had been exhilarating and heightened the experience. She felt naughty, like she had just broken the ultimate rule of 'do not commit adultery'.

She winced; she didn't want to do that. She didn't want to be one of those dissatisfied housewives who had a lover around during the day when her husband was out at work.

'_I'm going to go to bed,' _she thought to herself, _'and sleep, and by the time I wake up in the morning, this will all be in the past.'_

_Yeah right._

**The End**

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**A/N: By the way, does anyone want this continued? Like as an encounter at the office party? Let me know if you'd like that :)**

**Alex**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

**A/N: So, it's been almost three years since I wrote the first part of this story, and I've had a lot of requests for it to be continued. Over the past three years I've been kicking myself, trying as hard as I possibly could to write something worthy of following Unfamiliar Spell, and I can only hope that you all think this is up to the task. This may or may not become an ongoing story, I'm not entirely sure yet – it's far from finished, but I thought I should at least upload this to see if anyone still wants to read it. Thanks are due to Mon for editing this chapter (a long time ago), and to Angel for the encouragement. Please let me know what you think with a review :)**

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**Unfamiliar Spell**

When Hermione woke up the next morning she found herself trapped by Ron's arms around her waist from behind. She sighed heavily and gently lifted his arm up from where it had been resting on her hip and rolled out of the bed. Standing up, she looked down at his sleeping form and suddenly felt rather guilty as she remembered what she'd done the night before.

Mentally slapping herself, she went into the bathroom and stripped to shower, hoping her thoughts of Ginny would be washed away too. She stood underneath the warm water for a while, revelling in the feel on her skin, running her fingers unconsciously over her lower stomach. Thoughts of Ginny immediately came to mind, causing her to bite down on her bottom lip as she imagined her fingers, lips and tongue touching her.

Suddenly the door to the bathroom opened and Ron walked in, yawning slightly and rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Ron!" Hermione said reproachfully, hoping he hadn't seen where her fingers had been.

"Sorry," he apologised with a small grin. "I was wondering if I could join you?"

"Can't you wait your turn?" she asked, chewing down on her bottom lip, praying he wouldn't take his clothing off and step into the shower with her.

"Come on, Hermione," Ron murmured, pulling his t-shirt over his head and pushing his pyjama bottoms down. "We haven't in so long."

Hermione sighed and closed her eyes. _This was what you got yourself into when you married him_, that little voice in her head whispered.

"Alright," she said, opening the shower door to let Ron in.

He grinned broadly and she couldn't help smiling back at him. He stepped into the shower after removing his boxers, pulling Hermione to him and kissing her gently. Hermione relaxed into his embrace, part of her wanting to get this over and done with as fast as possible, another part of her remembering how she used to feel whenever he kissed her.

It was finished within a few minutes, as it usually was with Ron. Hermione had spent much of that time with her eyes closed, trying not to wince when he thrust a little too hard. She washed herself quickly after that, leaving the shower as soon as she could, telling him she was hungry.

Once she was dressed she walked down to the kitchen to make her morning coffee and some toast with jam. She ate and drank slowly, trying not to think about what had just happened in the shower. She sighed heavily and looked down at her coffee thoughtfully. She could remember a time when she'd enjoyed the way he handled her when they made love. She enjoyed his rough hands and hard pounding, so much that they'd been forced to use double-strength silencing charms whenever someone else had been in the house. She remembered waking up next to him, happily snuggling closer to him and feeling completely safe and sound in his arms.

She certainly wasn't feeling like that anymore.

It had been a slow progression of sorts, her lust and love for him ebbing away. She still loved him, of course, but she was relatively sure that she wasn't _in_ love with him. Over the past months (or perhaps years, even), she'd been telling herself that it was just a phase, that she'd get over it and finally realise just how much she loved him. That hadn't happened, and with what she'd done the night before and almost done in the shower that morning, she was sure there was something else she wanted. _Someone_ else.

Hermione shook herself slightly and frowned heavily as she took another sip of her coffee. The odds that Ginny felt the same way were very small. As far as Hermione could tell, she was incredibly happy and content being married to The Boy Who Lived. At that thought Hermione's stomach dropped, realising that if, by some small chance, Ginny felt the same way they'd be hurting the two most important people in their lives. Hermione didn't want to take Harry's family away from him. After all those years of being unwanted by his aunt and uncle, he finally had what he wanted; a loving family.

"So, what are you doing today?" Ron asked as he walked into the kitchen, with a huge smile on his face.

Hermione forced a smile back at him, "I need to go shopping for something to wear tonight, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Are you still going with Ginny?" he asked pulling some bread out to toast.

"Oh... I don't know," Hermione replied, her stomach dropping again as she remembered that she'd arranged to meet the youngest Weasley girl in Diagon Alley.

"She seemed excited about it when I talked to her yesterday," Ron said, heaping large amounts of butter on his toast. He took a bite and grinned at her as he talked, "You'd better not let her down."

"Right," Hermione murmured, drinking the last of her coffee and standing up to wash her mug in the sink. "I'm going to head off then."

"I thought you were meeting her after lunch?" Ron said, frowning at her.

"Yes, but I thought I might go to the bookstore for a little while beforehand." Hermione shrugged and turned to walk out of the kitchen.

"Are you alright?" Ron asked, following her with a piece of toast still in his hand.

"I'm fine," she replied, looking over her shoulder at him as she headed up towards their bedroom.

"Are you sure? You seemed kind of... distant this morning," he said, shrugging.

Hermione sighed and stopped walking, turning to face him. "I'm alright, don't worry." She forced a very convincing smile and said, "You know I love books, I just want to see if I can find something stimulating."

He smiled back at her, "Alright. I love you. I'll see you later on this afternoon, then."

"Sure, see you then," she replied, moving forward to kiss his cheek softly. He headed back to the kitchen while she made her way up the stairs to their bedroom.

Once the door was closed safely behind her, she sat down on the edge of the bed, eyes closed and breathing very slowly through her nose. _'I'm not going to cry,'_ she thought furiously.

_What's the point in trying to stop it? You're screwed either way. If you don't do anything about how you feel, you'll be stuck in this relationship for the rest of your life. If you do, you'll hurt Ron, and possibly push Ginny and Harry away. No-win situation._

Hermione bit down on her bottom lip in an attempt to stop the tears escaping. _'I'm not going to cry,'_ she repeated in her head, standing up to pick up her purse from the dresser. _'I'm not going to think about this at the moment,'_ she thought angrily, glaring at herself in the mirror on top of the dresser.

When the little voice in her head didn't respond, she sighed and disapparated.

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When Hermione reappeared, she found herself standing in a small side-alleyway. She smiled and walked up to the main street and turned left. Her favourite bookshop was only a couple streets down, and she intended on sitting in the coffee shop next door for a few hours, after finding a new book (or two) to read.

As she entered the bookstore she smiled at the people at the register, whom she'd come to be good friends with after having visited the bookstore so often. She headed immediately towards the historical fiction section, intent on finding another book set in Ancient Greece or Egypt to add to her collection. After a short search, she found one called _The Athenian Murders_ that looked interesting. After looking through the books on the shelf again, she decided she'd give this one a go.

"How are you, Hermione?" asked the server as she took the book from her to scan.

"Oh, I'm fine, Mon," Hermione smiled at her. "How about you? Anything interesting going on in your life?"

Monika grinned at her, "My life is always interesting. I have a break in about an hour, would you still be around to chat?"

"Of course I will be," Hermione said, handing over the money for the book. "You know what I'm like when I buy a new book. I'll be in the coffee shop next door."

"Great!," Monika smiled warmly at her. "I'll see you soon."

"Yeah, see you," Hermione smiled back as she took the book from her and walked out of the bookstore and into the coffee shop next door. She ordered herself a large cappuccino and sat down in the far corner, away from most of the bustle of the café.

By the time Monika joined her (with a large coffee of her own and a sandwich), Hermione had made her way through two chapters of her book, managing to read both separate storylines without getting them confused.

"So," Monika said, settling herself in her seat, "how's life?"

Hermione smiled weakly at her as she marked her place in the book. "Oh, the same."

"Still not happy with Ron, huh?"

"No," Hermione sighed, sipping her coffee. "I just don't know what to do anymore."

"Why not leave him?" Monika asked, looking at her sandwich thoughtfully before taking a bite. "I mean, you've been feeling like this for a long time, and nothing's changed."

"I've been thinking about it. But I don't know if I can do that to his family, or to mine."

"Are you worried about the kids?"

Hermione nodded, "I don't think it's right to do this to them just because I'm going through an unhappy phase."

"But, Hermione, it's not just a phase," Monika said, leaning forward to put her hand on hers. "Every time I've seen you over the past... I think it must have been a year now, you've felt like this."

"I know," Hermione sighed again, squeezing Monika's hand before pulling back to take another sip of her coffee. "I'm just so uncertain and Ron clearly has no idea. This morning we..." Hermione almost shuddered as she remembered what had happened in the shower. "Well, I didn't enjoy it in the slightest, and he didn't pick up on that. He still thinks everything's going well."

"You should tell him," Monika said, taking another bite of her sandwich. "I mean, it's not fair to him if you keep going on like this. Wouldn't he want to know if you were unhappy?"

"He'd probably get angry at me if he found out why I think I'm so unhappy," Hermione said, biting on her bottom lip.

"Why do you think you're so unhappy then?" Monika asked before taking a gulp of her coffee.

"I think I'm attracted to women," Hermione sighed. Monika's eyes flew wide open and she swallowed the coffee with great difficulty, coughing slightly.

"You like girls?" she spluttered, reaching for a napkin to wipe her mouth.

Hermione laughed softly, "Sorry. I think so."

"Well, that would explain why you don't enjoy sex with him anymore," Monika said, as reasonably as she could. "How did you come to this conclusion though?"

"It's a little embarrassing," Hermione frowned, crossing her arms.

"What, did you masturbate thinking about me?" Monika grinned and winked at her.

Hermione snorted, "No."

"Gee, thanks," Monika smirked, nudging her leg slightly with her foot.

"You're close though," Hermione shrugged, drinking her coffee.

"So, who?"

"Ginny."

"Wait... Ron's sister?"

"And the wife of one of my best friends." Hermione groaned and leaned her elbows on the table, her head in her hands, "I don't know what to do."

"Wow," Monika said, leaning back on her chair. "That's quite a pickle you've got yourself in."

"That, I know," Hermione grumbled sitting back up and drinking more of her coffee. "I mean, now that I think about it, I've been looking at her a bit differently over the past while."

"What, your eyes lingering a moment longer than they should in certain places?" Monika asked, grinning again. "Perhaps holding onto her for a few seconds longer than you normally would when you hug?"

"It's not funny," Hermione sighed, staring down at her book. "We've got this party tonight for where Ron and Harry work –"

"Harry?"

"Ginny's husband. And I'm supposed to go shopping with her for something to wear tonight, and after what I did last night I know I'm going to feel incredibly awkward around her."

Monika shrugged and moved her chair around to sit next to Hermione, putting her arm around her. "You've been pretty good at pretending with Ron so far, haven't you?" she asked.

Hermione nodded.

"So turn that on when you're with Ginny."

"I don't know if I can," Hermione frowned again. "It's really odd, but for some reason, I can never hide my thoughts from her. And I can't lie to her convincingly enough for her to not ask me what's wrong. She's the only person who's ever made me feel unsure about anything."

Monika smiled slightly, "Sounds like you've liked her for longer than you care to admit."

"Perhaps," Hermione sighed again and rested her head on Monika's shoulder. "As far as I know, Ginny's completely happy with Harry. And I'm pretty sure she's straight."

"Does she know about your problems with Ron?"

"Yes. She's the only one who's noticed I'm not happy. Although, I should mention that Ron and Harry are two of the most clueless people I've ever met in my entire life."

Monika smiled sympathetically, "So talk to her about it. Maybe don't tell her that you're attracted to her, but you could tell her you think you might be attracted to women."

Hermione nodded and sat back up straight. She smiled at Monika and gave her a hug, "Thank you," she said softly.

"Anytime," Monika winked at her, pulling her sandwich closer and taking another bite of it.

"Alright, change of subject then," Hermione said briskly. "What's going on with you?"

They spoke for the remainder of Monika's break about what was going on in her life, and Hermione found herself grateful for the distraction. As Monika's break came to a close, Hermione thanked her again,

"Thank you so much for the chat," she said, hugging her.

"Seriously, anytime," Monika replied, kissing her on the cheek before picking her unfinished coffee up. "Just head over to the shop, buy another book and sit here and read until I have my break," she said, grinning happily at Hermione.

Hermione laughed, "I will. See you later, then."

"See you." Monika gave her one last smile before heading out of the coffee shop and back to the bookstore.

Hermione glanced at her watch as she sat down, noticing she had another hour before she had to meet Ginny in Diagon Alley. She pulled her book to herself and began to read again.

On her third page in, her mind started drifting away from what was happening in the book. She thought about the night before, how it felt to see Ginny doing what she wanted in her mind's eye. She sighed heavily and stood up to go to the counter to order another cappuccino.

_You know you're going to think about it when you're not sufficiently distracted_. That annoying little voice popped up again and Hermione scowled slightly.

'_I can control what I think about,'_ she thought furiously, paying for her coffee and vaguely noticing the quizzical look on the barrister's face.

_But you want to think about it. Remember, you enjoyed last night._

Hermione sighed and collected her coffee from the bench when it was ready and headed back to her table. _'I know that, but it's not healthy to think about... _that_ too often.'_

_It's not healthy to deny who you are, either, _the voice murmured, sounding slightly irritated.

Hermione rolled her eyes at herself; even her conscience was getting frustrated with the way things were going. _'I think we've established that I'm not happy with Ron, yes?'_

_Yes._

'_Right. That's as far as I'm willing to take this at this point. I don't even know if I actually fancy women, or Ginny for that matter. Last night could have been a one-off fantasy. Lots of women fantasize about other women...'_

_Not necessarily about their best friends._

Hermione sighed at this.

_Maybe you've just been with the wrong Weasley this whole time._

Hermione was frowning at herself now. _'But I was so in love with Ron. I used to enjoy...'_

_Think about it. While you might have enjoyed sex at one point or another, yours and Ron's relationship hasn't been the most perfect one._

'_Relationships are never perfect...'_

_Think about how often you fight._

Hermione sighed again. Most couples had the occasional small fights, and reconciled their differences within a few hours, or that was what she thought. But Hermione couldn't think of one month in their entire relationship where they hadn't had some huge argument, hidden from the children once they'd come along of course. And when they'd made up, it wasn't with sex or a kiss on the cheek and a smile, it was usually with Hermione conceding and Ron grunting at her in response.

_See? And you used to always go to Ginny to get perspective on what was going on._

'_That's because she's his sister,'_ Hermione reasoned with herself.

_Alright. But don't you remember enjoying sitting in her arms as you cried your eyes out over how stupid Ron was?_

Hermione bit her lip. She was now over-thinking the issue, maybe even remembering feelings that weren't apparent at the time. _'Stop it. I can't do anything about Ginny at the moment. The only thing I can do is talk to her about Ron.'_

_She'll know something is up,_ said her conscience, almost in an annoying sing-song voice.

'_I'll tell her about _that_ when the time is right. No need to tell her anything about it when I don't even know how I feel for sure.'_

Finally, the voice was silent again. Hermione sighed in relief, drinking her coffee. It was going to be ok. Ginny would understand how Hermione felt about Ron.

"It'll be ok," she murmured to herself quietly.

_Yeah, right._

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To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

**A/N: Here's a relatively quick (and short) update for you guys. The few reviews I received on the second chapter were really nice to read :) and it was nice to see a couple people had added it to alerts and favourites. Not a lot happens this chapter, I suppose it's more of a filler for the next chapter. But I hope you guys enjoy it, and please remember to review when you finish reading. I'm more inspired to write if you guys review ;) about half of this is unbeta-ed, so please excuse any mistakes made. Please review!**

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**Unfamiliar Spell**

Three quarters of an hour later, Hermione found herself in Diagon Alley, waiting for Ginny to meet her outside Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Ginny arrived not long after she did, and the pair set off in the direction of the dress robe stores.

"How are you?" Ginny asked, slipping an arm through Hermione's.

"I'm alright," Hermione said, biting her lip as she noticed her stomach jumping each time Ginny's hips nudged hers as they walked. "How are you?"

"The same, I suppose," Ginny said, her voice lowering slightly. She looked sideways at Hermione thoughtfully. "So, you still haven't told Ron that you're not happy?

Hermione smiled weakly at her, "No. And I'm not particularly looking forward to going to this party tonight with him."

"It's okay, I'll be there," Ginny said, nudging her with her shoulder gently.

"I know, but he likes to wander around with me on his arm, meeting and greeting his bosses. That usually takes a while."

"Hmm," Ginny hummed thoughtfully. "Well, I can make sure that Harry and I follow you guys around so that at least I'm there with you?"

Hermione smiled happily at the redhead, "That'd be great, to be honest."

"Consider it done," Ginny said, winking at the brunette.

Hermione laughed, "Alright. Now, where do you want to go?"

"I saw some nice stuff in the window of a shop near Madam Malkin's, we could try there first," Ginny suggested.

"Lead the way," Hermione said, smiling at her friend.

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"I don't know Ginny," Hermione said, frowning at herself in the mirror. "Don't you think it's a little revealing?"

Ginny snorted softly, "Hermione, you look stunning. Wasn't the idea for you to look amazing for Ron?"

Hermione sighed slightly, "Yes, but I'd rather look amazing in something a little less revealing."

"Why don't we ask someone's opinion?" Ginny asked, looking around the shop. She caught the eye of the shop keeper and beckoned her over.

"Is there anything I can get you?" she asked.

"I was just wondering if you could reassure my friend that this isn't too revealing," Ginny said, nodding at Hermione, who had now crossed her arms across her chest.

The shop keeper smiled warmly, "Of course. What occasion is the dress for?"

"An office party," Hermione said, letting her arms fall as she turned to look at herself in the mirror again. "I'm just not sure that this is entirely appropriate."

"Well," the shop keeper said, walking around behind Hermione, "if you'll permit me," she said, placing her hands just beneath Hermione's bust and pulling the dress tight. "You can see that if we make this small adjustment, it accentuates your hips nicely. And if you'd like, I can always adjust the way it falls across your chest."

Hermione sighed again as she gazed at herself in the mirror. "You're really not going to take no for an answer, are you?" she asked Ginny.

"Nope!" Ginny said cheerfully. "Could you make those adjustments while we wait?"

"Certainly," the shop keeper smiled. "Just take the dress off, it should only take a few minutes."

"You look good in red," Ginny said thoughtfully, as Hermione made to walk back into the change room.

Hermione laughed softly, "Is that supposed to convince me to buy it?"

Ginny grinned and shook her head, "No, I was just giving you a compliment. Isn't that allowed?"

"I suppose it's allowed," Hermione called from behind the change room curtain. "Ugh, Gin, could you come in here and help me take it off? I don't want to rip it."

"Sure," Ginny said, pulling the curtain back slightly so she could step in. "It really does look good," she said, smiling as she caught Hermione gazing at herself in the mirror again.

"You know that's not my problem," Hermione said, unable to give her a proper glare.

"The sales woman was right though, it accentuates your hips perfectly," Ginny said, stepping up behind Hermione to place her hands on her hips.

Hermione's breath caught in her throat slightly, unprepared for the jolt of arousal that went through her at Ginny's touch. She tried not to flinch away, closing her eyes for a moment.

"Hermione."

"Hmm?" She opened her eyes to see Ginny looking at her expectantly. "What?"

"Lift your arms so I can take it off you."

"Oh, right," Hermione muttered, lifting her arms. Her stomach jumped as she felt Ginny's hands brush past her sides as she lifted the dress, and she almost moaned as she felt her fingers beneath her breasts, pulling the fabric past and up and over her head. "Thanks," Hermione mumbled, immediately crossing her arms across her chest.

"No problem," Ginny smiled at her before stepping out of the change room.

Hermione sighed heavily and put her clothing back on, very glad that that _annoying _voice wasn't popping up again. She stepped back out of the change room and Ginny grinned at her,

"Seriously, I think you're going to be happy about that dress."

Hermione laughed softly, "Whatever you say."

"Come on, you know you looked hot."

"Well, I suppose the red does look nice with my skin tone," Hermione said, shrugging.

Ginny snorted, "There's no nice about it, Hermione, you look amazing."

Hermione's stomach lurched suddenly at the compliment and she bit her lip, remembering just in time to smile at the redhead. "Thanks, Gin. You look great too."

"That's because I still play Quidditch," Ginny grinned at her.

Hermione grinned back and rolled her eyes, "So you continue to remind me."

"I still don't get why you won't come out for a ride on my broom with me," Ginny said, shrugging and putting on an over-emphasized pout.

"You know I'm scared of heights, Gin. I never even let Ron take me on his broom when we were younger. Or Harry, for that matter."

Ginny grinned, "That's because they're boys and you know they'd pull something stupid like diving suddenly."

"Are you saying that you'd give up the chance to hear me scream your name?" Hermione asked, winking at her, stomach jolting slightly at her bold response. She was almost about to say something else, before Ginny responded,

"There are plenty of ways to make you scream my name, Hermione," Ginny smirked and winked back at her.

Hermione bit her lip and smiled weakly at her, trying to ignore the sudden sensation of butterflies in her stomach.

"All done," the shop keeper called to them, finishing in a flourish and bringing the dress back over to them.

Ginny grinned, "Good. Try it on, Hermione."

"You're so pushy today," Hermione muttered, taking the dress from the shop keeper and disappearing into the change room again.

"I always have to be pushy when it comes to buying clothes for you," Ginny said, smiling happily.

"Not always."

"Well, when it comes to buying clothes like this."

Hermione laughed softly and came out of the change room with the dress on, "That's because I don't particularly like buying such revealing things for myself."

Ginny smiled at the older woman, "Well, you can start thanking me now. You look perfect."

"Thank you so very much for being the incredibly pushy person that you are," Hermione said sarcastically, smiling broadly at her.

Ginny laughed, "You are absolutely welcome, my dear," and winked back at her.

"I suppose I'll change and buy this, then," the brunette said, turning around to walk back into the change room. "Can you help me?"

Ginny nodded and followed her. "Do you want lunch after this?"

"Sure. Where do you want to go?"

"There's a nice place around the corner from here. Lift your arms."

Hermione did as instructed and felt a jolt of arousal go through her again as Ginny's hands slid the dress up her body. She wasn't sure if she was just imagining things or what, but she could have sworn that Ginny deliberately let her hands linger for a moment longer than they should have on her hips. A second later she was sure she had just imagined it, because Ginny smiled happily at her before leaving the change room with the dress.

Hermione took a deep breath and let it out slowly, gazing at herself in the mirror. "What are you doing?" she whispered to herself, frowning at her reflection.

_You _were_ enjoying the touch of a beautiful woman._

She sighed and began to dress. _'I'm feeling awkward about this only because of what I did last night.'_

_Yeah, right._

_

* * *

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To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

**A/N: Here's another quick update! A little longer too, so I hope you enjoy it. This will be the last of the quick updates though – I'm having a few issues with writing the next chapter out, but I'm working on it and I promise not to disappear for 3 years again :P also, I go back to uni in a couple of weeks, so obviously I won't be writing quite as much. But knowing myself, I'll probably get inspiration when I have essays and assessments due, so I suppose we'll see. In any case, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks are due to Devin, for the beta job he did, and to Ischra for inspiring me. Please remember to review at the end guys, it's really not that difficult.**

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**Unfamiliar Spell**

Once dressed, Hermione paid for the dress, and she and Ginny headed outside.

"So, lunch?" Ginny said, linking arms with Hermione again, succeeding only in making her feel incredibly aware of their hips touching again.

"Uh, sure!" Hermione said quickly, flashing Ginny a brilliant smile, hoping that she wouldn't notice how nervous she was, being in such close proximity to the redhead.

Ginny smiled back at her and they walked in silence towards the place Ginny had suggested. Once they were seated and had ordered, Ginny sat back and looked at Hermione thoughtfully,

"Is there anything else going on, besides the stuff with Ron?"

Hermione's stomach jumped at the question, but she immediately forced herself to smile and shake her head.

"Come on Hermione, you know you can't hide anything from me," Ginny said reasonably, taking a sip of water from the glass in front of her.

Hermione sighed heavily and looked down at the white tablecloth covering the table.

"You'll feel better once you get it off your chest."

The brunette smiled and looked back up at Ginny, "I suppose."

"So, tell me."

There was absolutely no way in hell that Hermione would tell Ginny _exactly _what had happened the night before. But she supposed that Monika was right, she could just tell her what she'd done without saying who she'd thought about.

"It has something to do with what's going on with Ron at home," Hermione said slowly, frowning as she tried to figure out what to say. Ginny waited patiently, watching her carefully. "Last night I... thought about... well..."

She paused, not entirely sure how to phrase what she did without it sounding crass. Ginny still waited patiently, and Hermione found herself entirely grateful of it. Here was a person waiting for her to express herself, not putting any words in her mouth or asking questions. She was suddenly struck by how entirely different Ginny was to her brother. Usually, Ron talked over Hermione, too impatient to wait and see what she was going to say. Hermione looked back at Ginny and smiled appreciatively, who smiled back at her and simply waited.

"I... _touched myself_," Hermione leaned forward to whisper, "and I wasn't thinking about Ron."

"That's not entirely surprising, considering how you've been feeling lately," Ginny said reasonably, leaning forward to rest her forearms on the table.

"No, I suppose not. It's just that..."

Hermione trailed off again, looking away from Ginny and down at the table again, her fingers playing nervously with the cutlery in front of her. The redhead sighed and leaned across the table, moving the cutlery away and holding Hermione's hands gently.

"It's okay, you can tell me," she said, smiling gently at her.

"Well... I thought about a woman."

Ginny's eyes widened slightly, "Oh."

"Yeah," Hermione breathed, her shoulders slumping slightly.

"Anyone in particular?"

Hermione bit her lip, "It doesn't really matter who, to be honest. I'm still getting my head around the fact that I did... _that_ while thinking about a woman."

"Fair enough."

They were both silent for a second, before Ginny asked,

"So, did you enjoy it?"

Hermione laughed softly, "I feel like we're back at Hogwarts, talking about how much we liked Harry and Ron."

Ginny grinned and shrugged, "Come on Hermione, it's really not that bad. Lots of women fantasize about other women."

Hermione sighed and smiled at the redhead. "Alright." She leaned forward and whispered, "It was probably the most intense orgasm I've ever had in my entire life."

Ginny's eyes widened again and she couldn't help grinning. "Wow. Good thing Ron didn't walk in on you, then."

"That's the other thing," Hermione said, biting her lip again. "He was asleep next to me while I was... busy."

Ginny's mouth dropped open this time, but they were interrupted with their food before she could say anything. Hermione smiled and thanked the waitress before taking her napkin and placing it on her lap.

"You've got to be kidding me," Ginny said in a low voice, doing the same and leaning forward. "He slept right through it?"

"Well, you know what your brother's like. He can sleep through anything," Hermione shrugged, picking her knife and fork up and beginning to eat.

"Yeah, but... wow. He's an idiot," Ginny said, shaking her head.

"It's not his fault that he didn't wake up. I'm entirely glad he didn't, it would've been hard to explain what I was doing."

"No, that's not what I mean," Ginny said quickly. "It's just that... I don't understand how he's never been able to appreciate you for what you are." She sighed heavily, "I never really understood why you two ended up together."

Hermione swallowed her mouthful and smiled sadly. "I was in love with him when we were younger. We fought a lot, but that made it interesting, you know? I suppose I thought that we'd grow up and mellow out, but that never happened. And he's still a kind person, regardless of how I feel. I do love your brother, Ginny, but just not in the way I used to."

The redhead nodded and stared down at her food.

"And it's much harder for me to do anything about my situation now," Hermione continued, setting her knife and fork down and taking a sip of water. "What with the children and all."

"And my mother," Ginny added.

The brunette sighed and nodded, "And your mother."

"You shouldn't worry about the children, though. They'll understand, and even if they don't immediately, they'll get over it in time, if you do end up doing something about this."

"You say that as if I won't do anything."

Ginny chewed her food, looking thoughtful, before swallowing and saying, "I think you're getting to the point of not being able to deal with the situation for much longer. I don't know if you can afford to not do anything about it for much longer. Especially after last night."

"I'm not a lesbian," Hermione said quickly.

Ginny laughed, "I'm not implying that you are. Though, it wouldn't be such a bad thing if you were. What I mean is that you've been feeling like this for far too long without telling Ron, and if it keeps going for much longer you'll only end up hurting yourself. I know you, Hermione, I know you don't want to be stuck in a dead-end relationship like this."

Hermione smiled weakly at her friend, "To be honest, I never thought I'd be in this position. When we were still at Hogwarts I had so many ideas about what I wanted to do with my life, to end up working for the Ministry or maybe even owning my own bookstore, and I wanted to travel like my parents did. We had children so quickly that all of that went out of my mind and I focused on making a home for them."

"I understand," Ginny said softly, reaching across the table and holding Hermione's hand again.

"I don't blame them. I just..." Hermione trailed off, suddenly feeling very close to tears. "I just feel like I wasted the last fifteen years of my life. I feel like I could have done so much more."

Ginny bit her lip and moved her chair around the table so she was sitting next to Hermione. "It hasn't been entirely wasted," she said gently. "You have two beautiful children who are at the top of their classes in Hogwarts, and you've made my brother incredibly happy."

"I know..."

"I think it's time that you focused on your needs now, though."

Hermione looked up at her with teary eyes, the images of the night before coming back into her mind, so vivid that it was all she could do to stop herself from leaning in closer to the beautiful redhead beside her and kissing her.

Ginny pulled Hermione close, wrapping her arms around her and whispering to her ear, "I'll always be here for you, no matter what."

Hermione breathed her scent in deeply and nodded, her stomach feeling alive with butterflies as she felt Ginny's chest rub up against her body. "Thank you," she whispered back.

Ginny smiled and kissed Hermione on the cheek before moving back. "Let's finish eating and then we can go for a walk, okay?"

Hermione smiled gratefully at her and nodded.

* * *

"I just don't even know how to bring it up with him," Hermione said as the pair wandered through the streets of Muggle London.

"I'm not sure either," Ginny said thoughtfully, frowning at the ground in front of her.

Hermione sighed, "I just don't want to think about it anymore. Can we talk about something else?"

Ginny smiled, "Sure."

"How are things with you and Harry then?"

Ginny stayed silent and Hermione raised an eyebrow at her,

"Ginny?"

The younger woman shrugged, "Not fantastic, to be honest."

Hermione sighed heavily, "I'm sorry, I've been thinking about myself too much. What's going on?"

Ginny smiled weakly, "It's not your fault, you've been in a tough situation for a long time now."

"Ginny," Hermione said, firmly, stopping in her tracks and turning to face her, looking at her intently.

Ginny sighed too and gazed back at Hermione. "I don't know, we just... we don't talk anymore."

Hermione nodded. "Do you want to go somewhere to talk?"

"We can go back to my place," Ginny said, nodding too. "Harry's gone out for the day so we should be alone for a few hours."

"Alright. Do you want to walk or disapparate?"

"We can walk, it's only a couple blocks away," Ginny said, taking Hermione's arm in hers and beginning to walk again.

"How long?" Hermione asked, looking sideways at the woman beside her.

"Maybe a few months," the redhead replied, shrugging. "I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but I think it might have something to do with listening to your problems with Ron over the past while."

"I'm sorry..."

"No, don't be sorry," Ginny said firmly, cutting across her. "It isn't your fault, you've actually helped me realise how I really feel. I've been telling you that you need to be honest with yourself for months about all of this, and I think I've been realising the same about myself."

"Well, I'm still sorry that we haven't talked about this before. I should have been more intuitive, I suppose," Hermione sighed.

Ginny smiled and nudged her softly in the shoulder, "You've had a lot on your mind."

"Still... I should have been here for you."

"You have been," the redhead said reassuringly. "You've provided me with an escape from the monotonous married life. Didn't you notice how much time we've been spending together lately?"

Hermione smiled and nodded, "I suppose so."

They walked in silence the rest of the way back to Ginny and Harry's house, arms still linked and both feeling as though, for the first time in a while, that everything was going to be okay. Eventually.

* * *

Once they were inside, Ginny set to making coffee while Hermione sat down at the breakfast table, watching her move around the kitchen. She couldn't help but admire the grace with which the redhead moved, and found herself smiling as Ginny meticulously measured just how much coffee she was going to make. Once she was done, she carried two mugs of coffee over to the table and sat down next to Hermione.

"Thanks," Hermione said, stirring her drink and glancing at Ginny as she took a sip of hers. "So, do you want to talk?"

Ginny nodded and set her mug down. "I'm not even sure where to begin."

"You said you guys don't talk anymore?"

"Yeah. I don't know, it's more than that, I suppose. Sometimes I feel like I annoy him."

Hermione frowned, "Why?"

"He gets impatient with me and we're arguing a lot more than we used to." Ginny sighed, "I just don't understand what I did."

"You haven't done anything," Hermione said firmly, taking Ginny's hand in hers and squeezing it softly. "He's obviously got problems of his own."

"But..."

"Ginny," Hermione cut across her. "You're beautiful, kind and caring. I have absolutely no idea why he's acting like this, because you certainly don't deserve it."

The redhead smiled weakly at the brunette, "Thanks, Hermione."

There was a pause, in which both women took a sip of their coffee. Ginny took a deep breath and sighed heavily, leaning back in her chair and not letting go of Hermione's hand. They just sat together in silence, comforted by each other's presence.

"We both need to talk to them," Ginny said softly.

Hermione nodded.

"Will you be alright?"

Hermione nodded again and shot a sideways glance at Ginny. "It's been festering for so long that if I don't talk to him soon, I won't be able to talk to him without snapping. I'll just have to do it."

"It'll be okay," Ginny said, squeezing Hermione's hand gently.

The brunette gave the redhead a small smile and nodded, before looking at her watch. "I should probably go, Gin, we both need to get dressed for tonight."

"Okay," Ginny replied, standing up with her and giving her a tight hug. "Thank you," she whispered to her ear, kissing her on the cheek before moving back.

"Anytime," Hermione smiled at her, kissing her back on the cheek. "I'll see you tonight, then."

"See you soon."

* * *

By the time Hermione arrived home, it was two hours before the party began. She headed straight up to the bedroom, dropping the bag with her dress on the bed before walking into the bathroom. She leaned over the sink and looked at herself in the mirror, frowning heavily.

"What are you doing?" she whispered to herself.

The little voice that had given her so much hell over the past day remained silent, and she sighed slightly, straightening back up and beginning to undress. Heading back out into the bedroom, she quickly stripped, grabbing fresh underwear out of her drawers. After walking back into the bathroom, she turned and closed the door, making sure to lock it this time. She knew exactly what she was going to do now, and she didn't want Ron to walk in on her again.

Turning the shower on, she waited patiently as the water heated up, the fingers of one of her hands trailing lazily across her abdomen. Looking down at herself, she bit her lip before moving her fingers lower, shivering slightly as she felt how _wet _she was already.

She stepped into the shower, the warm water pounding down onto her head, and trailing down her body. She stood there for a few seconds, face turned up to the showerhead, feeling as though the water was washing away all that she was stressing about. In that moment, nothing existed apart from herself, and all she wanted was a release. A release from the tension that had built up over the day of seeing Ginny, without her realising it.

For the second time that day, she let her fingers move south, and she couldn't help moaning softly as they found their mark. She imagined it was Ginny, that she was kissing her and holding her close, touching her and _fucking _her. She could see the beautiful redhead, feel her pumping her fingers in and out, hear her telling Hermione to come for her. Hermione could feel her orgasm nearing, could feel her hips shaking and bucking, and had to lean back against the cold, clammy wall of the shower as she came, trying as hard as she possibly could to keep her moans silent. As she finished, she slumped against the wall, sliding down it to sit on the floor, pulling her knees to herself.

"Ginny," she whispered, before tears overwhelmed her. So she sat there, hugging her knees and crying silently, wishing that she had spent her life doing something else. Being with _someone _else_._

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To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

**A/N: So, it's been a few weeks now... and chapter 5 is finally here. I'm sorry for the small delay, I've been having trouble with the following chapter. Uni has started back up for me, and it's very stressful... I really, really need to practice my French - .- Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. You'll finally see the office party :D I'm entirely vague about what Harry and Ron work as, and the name of their boss (as you'll see) so you can use your own imaginations to figure out what they do, I suppose. It's not important to the story though, so please, don't ask me questions about what they do. Thanks are due to Ischra for helping me figure out where this chapter was going :) I hope you guys like it. Please remember to review!**

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**Unfamiliar Spell**

Half an hour later, Hermione had calmed down and cleaned herself up, washing her hair and body thoroughly. Once she had finished, she stepped out of the shower, drying herself off and changing into her underwear.

Still drying her hair with the towel, she walked out of the bathroom into the bedroom, finding Ron sitting on their bed, holding her dress up and looking at it thoughtfully.

"Do you like it?" Hermione asked, walking over to stand in front of him.

He looked up at her and grinned broadly, "You'll be the most beautiful woman there."

Hermione smiled back at him, "I'm glad you're happy. We've got to get ready though."

He nodded and handed the dress to her, standing up and going to the wardrobe to get his clothes. They dressed in silence, Hermione trying to ignore the way Ron watched her move. Once she had the dress on and had found suitable shoes for it, she went back into the bathroom to do her hair and make-up.

"You look stunning," she heard Ron say from the bathroom door.

She smiled, "Thank you."

"Are you looking forward to tonight?" he asked, almost hopefully.

"Yes, we should have a good time," she said, turning to face him. "Do I look okay?"

He grinned again, "You look amazing."

Smiling, she moved closer to kiss his lips gently, "Thank you. Are you ready?"

He nodded, "We're going to go to Harry and Ginny's first, okay?"

"Let's go, then."

* * *

"Harry!" Ginny called.

"What?" he yelled back, sounding clearly irritated.

Ginny rolled her eyes at Hermione, "Hermione and Ron are here!"

"Is it already time to go?" he asked, finally making his way down the stairs to greet his friends.

"We don't have to be there for half an hour, at least," Hermione said, checking her watch. "How are you, Harry?"

Harry smiled and moved forward to hug Hermione tightly, "I'm good. What about you?"

"Fine," she said, kissing his cheek before moving back.

"You ready for tonight?" Harry asked Ron as he shook his hand.

"Of course I am," Ron replied, grinning happily. "As long as we have our beautiful wives on our arms, nothing can stop us!"

Hermione shot Ginny a frustrated look and sighed. Then, she frowned, noticing that Ginny wasn't wearing her dress. "Gin, why aren't you ready?"

"I don't like to put my dress on until right before we have to go," the redhead shrugged. "Why don't you come upstairs with me and help me with it?"

Hermione nodded, grateful to get away from the boys. Ginny took her hand and led her upstairs. "Did you talk to Harry at all?" she asked, following Ginny to her bedroom.

Ginny shook her head, "I didn't think it was a good idea to get him all worked up before tonight."

"Fair enough." Hermione looked down at their hands, stomach jolting slightly as she remembered where her hand had been a little over an hour ago. She shook her head slightly, as if to banish the memory from her mind, before saying, "He sounded angry when you called for him, though."

"He's always like that when he thinks we're alone," Ginny sighed, letting go of Hermione's hand and opening the bedroom door. Hermione followed her in and Ginny closed it behind her. "I'll talk to him tomorrow about it."

"I suppose I should talk to Ron about it too, then," Hermione sighed too, walking over to the bed and sitting down on it.

"It'll be alright," Ginny said, sitting down next to her and putting an arm around her shoulders. "And you'll feel better once it's all out on the table."

"I know." Hermione smiled weakly at her friend, leaning into her slightly. "You need to change, Gin."

The redhead laughed softly, "Yeah, I know." She stood up to walk to her wardrobe, opening it and pulling out what she was going to wear. "I think I'll need you to help me put it on," Ginny said, laying the dress down on the bed next to Hermione and beginning to undress.

"No problem," Hermione said, biting down on her bottom lip as she watched Ginny pull her t-shirt up and over her head, discarding it to be left in a simple red bra. Then, she unbuttoned and pushed her jeans down, revealing matching underwear. She stepped out of her jeans and bent down to pick them and the t-shirt up from the ground, walking over to her wardrobe and putting them in there.

Hermione tried desperately to keep her breathing at a normal pace, her heart beating very fast and very loud, watching the redhead's lower body as she walked, noticing how absolutely perfect her arse was.

"Okay," Ginny exclaimed, walking back to the bed and picking the dress up, "Can you help me now?"

Hermione swallowed and nodded, taking the dress from Ginny. The redhead lifted her arms, and Hermione helped ease the dress onto her body. It went on smoothly, Ginny smoothing it down over her hips, and making sure that it wasn't crooked over her chest.

"So?" she asked, looking a little apprehensive.

Hermione immediately put on a smile, "You look beautiful."

Ginny smiled back, "At least you think so."

Hermione frowned, "Harry won't?"

Ginny shrugged, "I suppose we'll see. Let's go, we need to be there soon."

* * *

When they arrived at the party, it was already in full-swing. There was a band playing in the corner, and the guests were all scattered about the room, alcohol in hand and smiles on their faces.

"I think I need a drink," Ginny muttered to Hermione, gesturing at the bar with her head. While they were still at the house, Harry and Ginny had gotten into a small argument about what she was wearing – Harry thought it was far too revealing of her figure. All Hermione and Ron could do was sit in awkward silence, Hermione secretly wanting to slap Harry in the face.

Hermione nodded and followed the redhead to the bar, where they both got a glass of wine and moved off to stand away from everyone else, watching their husbands greet their co-workers.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, turning to face Ginny.

The redhead smiled weakly and shrugged, "I'm fine. I feel like going home, but I'll be alright."

Hermione sighed, "I can't believe he picked a fight with you like that, in front of us."

"I can't believe Ron didn't say anything," Ginny scowled at her brother, who was laughing heartily with Harry.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he agreed with Harry," Hermione said, glaring at him too. "I don't know what his problem is, your dress is less revealing than mine."

Ginny took a deep breath and let it out slowly, closing her eyes for a second. "It's alright, I'll just deal with it tonight and talk to him tomorrow. All I can hope is that he'll let me finish what I'm saying before yelling at me again."

"He hasn't... hit you, has he?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"No," Ginny said immediately. "No, he knows what would happen if he laid a hand on me."

"Yes, I'd kill him," Hermione said darkly, glaring at him again.

Ginny laughed softly and leaned in to kiss Hermione's cheek gently, "I love you, Hermione."

Hermione's stomach jumped at the confession of love, which she knew was meant as platonic, and immediately forced a smile. "Love you too, Gin."

"They'll come over to get us soon," Ginny said, sighing slightly and taking a sip of her drink. "I'm really not in the mood to play nice with their boss."

"I know," Hermione murmured, "But we'll say hi, talk for a few minutes and then excuse ourselves, alright?"

Ginny nodded and took another deep breath before putting on a smile as their husbands began to make their way towards them with their boss.

"Hermione! Ginny! How are you two?" he asked, smiling happily as he kissed them both on the cheek.

"Oh, we're fine," Hermione replied, smiling back at him. "How's your wife?"

"A little under the weather, I'm afraid. She's at home tonight, resting."

"That's too bad," Ginny said. "And your children?"

"My oldest finishes Hogwarts this year!" he said, clapping his hands together enthusiastically. "He'll be studying to become a Healer after he finishes."

"That's great," Hermione said, smiling.

"Our eldest finishes in two years," Ron said, moving to put his arm around Hermione and smiling down at her.

Hermione smiled a small smile at him and nodded.

"Well, I suppose I should go greet some other guests," Harry and Ron's boss said, noticing a new arrival. "I hope you girls have a good time tonight."

"We will, thank you," Hermione said, her cheeks beginning to hurt from all the fake smiling she was doing.

"You could have been more talkative," Harry hissed at Ginny as soon as their boss was out of earshot.

She turned to glare at him, "You know that I don't like having to do the courtesy calls, the only reason I'm here is to keep Hermione company."

"And to dress like a slut," Harry snapped, his face going slightly red with anger. "Don't embarrass me again."

"Shut up, Harry," Hermione said quickly, stepping forward to place a comforting hand on Ginny's shoulder. "The only one who's being embarrassing is you."

"This isn't your business, Hermione," Harry said angrily, stepping forward to take Ginny's wrist. "She's going to do the right thing and come with me to say hello to my co-workers."

"This _is_ my business, and she's not," Hermione snapped, stepping in between them. "You might have been the top of our Defence Against the Dark Arts class, but don't think for a second that you can take me on."

"Harry," Ron said in a low voice.

"Go with Ron," Hermione said through gritted teeth. "We'll be out on the balcony if you feel like making an ass of yourself again." With that, she took Ginny's hand and led her away from their husbands, and out onto the balcony. "I'm going to kill him," Hermione said in a low voice, moving away from the few people who were out there, over to the edge.

"Thank you," Ginny said quietly, moving closer to hug the brunette tightly, burying her face into her neck.

Hermione sighed and hugged her back, breathing in her scent deeply. She smelled exquisite, like some sort of unknown flower, and she felt perfect in her arms. Hermione sighed again and whispered to her ear, "You're perfect. Don't let Harry make you think anything different."

Ginny pulled back slightly and smiled at her. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Hermione."

Hermione smiled back at her, "I feel the same way about you."

Ginny moved back in to hug her tightly, resting her chin on Hermione's shoulder. "Do you think I can come home with you tonight?"

Hermione nodded, "Of course. Maybe Ron will want to go over to your place with Harry."

"I'd prefer to just be with you," Ginny nodded in agreement. "I don't think I can deal with either of them tonight."

"Let's get another drink and then come back out here."

"Can you go get me one? I'd prefer to stay here," Ginny said, pulling back from Hermione and glancing at the doors leading back inside.

Hermione smiled, "Sure. Same drink?"

"Yes, thank you."

Leaving Ginny, she walked back inside, heading straight for the bar to get their drinks, and then looking around for Ron. Spotting his red hair quickly, she made her way for him.

"Hey, Ron," she said when she was near enough, touching him on the shoulder.

"Hey. Is she okay?" he asked, concern written all over his face.

"She's fine," Hermione said stiffly, glancing at Harry, who was now glaring at her. "Listen, she's going to come home with me tonight."

Ron nodded, "Alright. When do you want us to leave?"

Hermione bit her lip slightly and sighed, "Do you think it's okay if Ginny and I go home alone? She's pretty angry at Harry, and I think it'd be better if I was just with her."

Ron frowned slightly, "But I'm her brother."

"You didn't exactly jump in to defend her," Hermione said quietly.

"I didn't want to make a scene," Ron said quickly, taking Hermione's wrist and leading her away from the group. "Harry's my best friend, what was I supposed to say?"

"You were supposed to reprimand him for calling your _sister_ a slut!" Hermione snapped, looking around to make sure that no one was paying attention to them. "What he said was entirely uncalled for! He was acting like a child."

"He's been under a lot of stress lately," Ron replied, glaring at his wife. "He just lashed out because she didn't behave as he expected her to."

"Because she didn't talk a lot to your boss? Don't be an idiot, Ron..."

"Don't call me an idiot," Ron snapped, this time. "You don't have the right..."

"But you do? Christ, I don't know what kind of 1950s world you and Harry live in, but in the twenty-first century, women are allowed to act however they want, without their husbands' say-so."

Ron was quiet, his face getting steadily redder as Hermione continued speaking. When she had finished, he said very slowly, and quietly, "You're _my _wife. Ginny is _Harry's _wife. You two are supposed to be courteous towards us, it's common sense."

"No, Ron," Hermione said, sighing heavily. "I'm afraid both of you won't have wives for much longer if you keep acting like this." Before he could respond, she added, "And don't wait up for me tonight. Ginny and I will go to a hotel instead," before walking away from him, heading back out to the balcony.

"Thanks, Hermione," Ginny said, smiling as she took her drink from her. Noticing the scowl on Hermione's face, she frowned. "What happened?"

"I told Ron that we were going to go back to our place," Hermione said quickly, shooting a glare over her shoulder at the doors behind her. "And that we'd prefer it if he wasn't there so we could just talk. So he decided to start going on about how I'm his wife and I don't get to tell him what to do." She paused to drink. "I told him not to wait up, that we were going to stay at a hotel tonight."

Ginny was silent, watching Hermione carefully. Hermione frowned,

"What?"

Ginny smiled, "You're incredible, Hermione."

Hermione's frown turned into a look of confusion, making Ginny laugh,

"You've stood up to both our husbands tonight, and you look as though you could take on about a hundred more."

"I shouldn't have to take them on, though," Hermione scowled. "We're supposed to be adults, and here they are, acting as though we're their property. I don't know what the hell's gotten into them, but I honestly feel like leaving him tonight."

"Let's do it, then," Ginny said quickly. "We'll go back to your place, pack your clothes and books, and just leave. Let him figure it out."

Finally, Hermione smiled, noticing how amused Ginny was by her reaction. "Do you think this is funny, Mrs Potter?"

"Ugh," Ginny groaned, rolling her eyes, "Don't call me that, I wish I hadn't changed my name."

"I'm entirely glad I kept mine," Hermione said, smiling as she nudged Ginny in the shoulder. "You can always change your name back."

Ginny sighed and nodded. "Let's finish our drinks and go, then."

They stood there in silence for a few minutes, leaning on the balcony's railing, watching the city beneath them. They didn't go back inside once they'd finished their drinks, simply setting the glasses down on the floor before apparating back to Hermione's house.

* * *

"Are we going to pack all of your stuff, like I suggested?" Ginny asked, following Hermione into the bedroom.

Hermione looked back at her friend and smiled, rolling her eyes. "No, I think we'll leave that for tomorrow when I tell him that I'm leaving for good."

"Are you sure?"

"Ginny, you were the one who told me I needed to start thinking about myself," Hermione said reasonably, pulling a small suitcase out of the wardrobe. "You're right," she continued, smiling at the redhead. "I'm at my breaking point, and the only way to deal with it is to leave. Irreconcilable differences is the term, I think."

"I'm glad, then," Ginny said, walking over to Hermione's dresser and opening the top drawer. "So, what do you need?"

"A change of clothing and underwear," Hermione said, pulling some jeans out of the wardrobe.

"Hey, Hermione," Ginny said, suddenly grinning.

"What?" Hermione asked, walking over to the dresser.

"When was the last time you wore these?" Ginny asked, holding up a sheer red thong, with a matching bra.

Hermione laughed and snatched them away from her, "None of your business."

Ginny giggled and made to grab for them, "Come on, Hermione, they're incredibly sexy. I didn't know that you enjoyed wearing see-through garments, though."

"I haven't made it a habit, you know," Hermione replied, laughing as she held them out of Ginny's reach.

"Come on," Ginny whined, trying to grab for them.

"No way," Hermione replied, trying to hold Ginny back with one arm, and holding the underwear out of her reach with the other.

"Alright, Hermione, you asked for it," Ginny said warningly, backing up slightly.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at her. "Asked for what?"

"This!" Ginny exclaimed, pouncing on her and tickling her, fingers skipping lightly across her stomach, making Hermione shriek with laughter. Ginny giggled happily, backing Hermione up against the wall, digging her fingers into her sides and making Hermione almost double over with laughter.

"Okay, okay," Hermione gasped, throwing the underwear in the direction of the bed. "You win."

"You should know not to mess with me, Hermione Granger," Ginny smirked at her, letting her go and walking towards the underwear.

"You should know not to turn your back," Hermione said, pouncing on Ginny from behind, causing both women to tumble to the floor, Ginny laughing as Hermione tickled her. The two girls wrestled for dominance, until Hermione ended up on top, straddling the younger woman's hips, tickling her.

"Do I win?" Hermione asked, her fingers dancing across Ginny's sides and stomach.

"You win, you win!" Ginny gasped, trying to grab at Hermione's fingers.

Hermione grinned triumphantly, seizing Ginny's wrists and pinning them above her head. "I usually do," she said, winking down at the redhead.

_Look at what you're doing!_

That _voice_ suddenly popped up, out of nowhere, forcing Hermione to realise the compromising position they were both in. Still in their dresses from the party, she was straddling Ginny, her dress hitched up to her hips, and pulled tight across her chest. Ginny, on the other hand, was lying on the ground, her chest rising and falling rapidly, hazel eyes gazing up at dark brown intently. Hermione bit her lip as her eyes trailed down from Ginny's eyes, to her neck, and suddenly wanted with all her being to lean down and kiss that perfect, soft skin.

_She wants it, you can see it in the way she's looking at you._

Hermione's eyes snapped back up to Ginny's to find her still looking at her intently, almost looking as though she was inviting Hermione to move closer, to touch her lips with hers...

"We should finish packing my things," Hermione said softly, breaking the silence, not moving from her position.

Ginny nodded, "They could come back to look for us."

Hermione bit her lip and let go of Ginny's wrists, standing up off of her, and smoothing her dress down. Ginny stood up as well, picking the underwear up and handing them to Hermione, a small smirk on her face. Hermione grinned and rolled her eyes, placing the underwear back in the top drawer of the dresser.

They packed quickly before disapparating to Ginny's house and doing the same there. Thankfully, they didn't run into Ron or Harry, and before they knew it, they were walking away from Harry and Ginny's house, keeping an eye out for a taxi.

"Are you sure you have enough muggle money?" Ginny asked, looking worried as Hermione spotted a taxi and hailed it.

Hermione smiled at the redhead and nodded, "Don't worry, Ginny, we have enough for the night."

"Alright," she said uncertainly, getting into the taxi as it pulled up.

"Could you take us to the Ritz London?" Hermione asked.

"No problem," the taxi driver said.

"Where are we going?" Ginny asked, frowning at Hermione.

The brunette smiled, "We're going to spend the night at a very expensive hotel."

Ginny's eyes widened, "But we could just go and stay at the Leaky Cauldron."

"After the night I've had, I want to indulge myself," Hermione said firmly. "Don't worry, Ginny, my parents left me with a fair bit of money after they passed, and it's all in the bank."

"Gringotts?" Ginny asked, looking confused.

Hermione shook her head and mouthed 'muggle.'

"Oh," Ginny said quietly, sitting back and looking thoughtful. "Does Ron know about it?"

"He knows, but my parents left instructions that only I was to have access to it."

"Oh, okay."

"I don't think Ron would know how to work an ATM anyway," Hermione said, gazing out the window.

Ginny grinned, "_I_ don't know how to work an ATM."

Hermione laughed softly, "But you'd be able to figure it out, at least."

Ginny sighed and moved across to lean her head on Hermione's shoulder, "Only if you taught me."

The brunette smiled, snaking an arm around the redhead's waist and pulling her closer. "I'm so glad we're going to a hotel," she murmured.

"Me too," Ginny murmured back, taking Hermione's other hand and sliding her fingers between hers. "We'll be able to sleep in and Harry and Ron won't have any idea where we are."

"That's the point," Hermione said, smiling down at the redhead.

"We're here," the taxi driver cut in, pulling up at the hotel.

"Thank you," Hermione said, paying him and opening the door to get out. Ginny followed her and gazed up at the hotel with wide eyes. Hermione laughed softly, "You alright?"

Ginny nodded, "Are you sure you want to stay here?"

Hermione laughed again, "Of course I am. Come on, we have to check in."

* * *

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

**A/N: Firstly, I am sorry that this update has taken so long. University has demanded way too much of my time and I haven't had a lot of inspiration over the past month. But I hope that you enjoy this instalment of Unfamiliar Spell. It hasn't been beta-ed, and I really can't be bothered to go back through it myself... I've read it quite a few times and don't remember seeing any mistakes, so it should be fine. Thanks are due to Ischra, again, for inspiring me (a while ago now...), and to dizzle027 for pushing this story into triple digits for reviews! As always, I appreciate everyone who reviews, and I do try to respond to everyone. I have no idea when the next update will be... I can only hope that I'll get inspiration while writing one of my many essays, or when I'm out next. I will try to spend what little free time I have writing though. In any case, I hope you enjoy it, and please remember to review.**

* * *

**Unfamiliar Spell**

"Four hundred pounds a night?" Ginny whispered in shock as soon as they were alone in the room. "Hermione, we don't have to..."

"Ginny, for the last time, I can afford it," Hermione said, dumping her bag at the foot of the bed and climbing onto it. "Now, would you like some room service?" she asked, picking the menu up from the bedside table.

Ginny sighed, "Hermione..."

"Don't worry," Hermione said, smiling at the redhead's concern. "You and I can afford to stay here for a couple of nights, all that money should be put to good use. It's just been sitting there, growing for the past fifteen years."

Ginny sighed again, before dumping her bag down too, and joining Hermione on the bed. "Alright. But we only need to stay for one night."

"Gin, I doubt that Harry and Ron will react well after what we have to talk about with them tomorrow. We'll stay two nights, at least, and then see where we are, okay?" When Ginny continued to look apprehensive, Hermione took her hand and squeezed it softly, "Please? It'll do us some good to get out of the houses and indulge. We can book massages, and have as much room service as we can eat, and..."

"Alright, alright," Ginny finally smiled. "You win. Again."

Hermione grinned apologetically, trying to ignore the image of them both sprawled on the floor during their tickling fight. "So, room service?"

"Order whatever you want," Ginny said, standing up, "I'm going to check out the view."

* * *

Soon, they were sitting down at the table, Hermione very aware of the atmosphere surrounding their food. In the centre of the tray was a single red rose, and a bottle of champagne was in a cooler next to the table.

"I suppose they thought we were a couple," Ginny said, pulling the champagne out of the cooler and popping the cork.

"I suppose," Hermione smiled weakly.

Ginny poured them a glass of champagne each before they started to eat.

"So, have you given any thought as to what you're going to say to Ron tomorrow?" Ginny asked, taking a sip of her champagne.

"Not really," Hermione shrugged, chewing on her food thoughtfully. "I'm more worried about what he'll say."

"Do you want me to be there?"

Hermione sighed and set her knife and fork down, reaching for her glass and leaning back in her chair. "I don't want to cause a rift between you and Ron, Gin."

"After the way he acted tonight, I couldn't care less," Ginny said firmly. "He didn't defend me, and he tried to justify Harry's actions to you. Besides, I'm going to need you to be with me when I talk to Harry."

Hermione nodded and gazed out the window next to them, "Alright. If you're sure."

Ginny nodded too, "I am."

"Have you given any thought to what you're going to say, then?" Hermione asked.

"I just want to sit him down and ask what's been going on. Everything depends on his answers to my questions, but I get the feeling I'm in the same boat as you." Ginny sighed and slumped back in her chair. "How did we get to this point?"

"Well, Ron just never grew up. I don't know what's going on with Harry, though. All he ever wanted was a family, and you've given that to him," Hermione shrugged. "I have no idea why he'd treat you like this, of all people."

They were silent for a few minutes, Hermione still gazing out the window and Ginny poking at her food with her fork. Hermione looked back at her for a moment and noticed the redhead trying to hold back tears, sniffing slightly every so often.

"Hey," Hermione said softly, standing up and walking around the table to kneel next to the redhead's chair, taking her hands in hers. "One way or another, everything will be okay."

Ginny sniffed and nodded dejectedly, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.

"Come here," Hermione murmured, standing up to hug her. Ginny stood up too, and wrapped her arms around her tightly, her shoulders now shaking as she cried into Hermione's neck. They stood there for a while, Hermione trying to stop her tears as she held Ginny up, suddenly hating Harry with all her being. He was making her feel like this, making her cry. He was treating her as though she didn't deserve to be his wife. Hermione wanted to go to him right this second and hex him, or punch him, or _something_, just to get back at him for making Ginny feel like this.

"It'll be okay," Hermione finally murmured to Ginny's ear.

Ginny sniffed and nodded, loosening her grip on the brunette and stepping back slightly. "I just never thought..."

"I know," Hermione said.

Ginny smiled weakly at her, "I'm sorry, Hermione. Let's finish eating."

They sat back down at the table and resumed their meal, both of them now avoiding the subject of their husbands. They chatted about Ginny's upcoming Quidditch season, which was to be her last, and what Hermione now wanted to do with her life.

After they'd finished their meal, they went out onto the balcony with their glasses and sat down together.

"I always wanted to work for the house elves' rights," Hermione said thoughtfully, sipping her champagne.

"You could work with the international cooperation department too," Ginny added. "You speak a few languages, don't you?"

"Only conversational French, Spanish and Italian. Not nearly as many as you'd need."

Ginny smiled, "Doesn't hurt to go in and see what jobs are available."

"I suppose not," Hermione sighed. "I wish I'd gotten a job years ago."

"It'll be fine, you'll see. You're the smartest witch Hogwarts has ever seen, once people start seeing your name, they'll be jumping at the opportunity to hire you."

Hermione smiled and looked sideways at the redhead. "So all those years of being such a nerd will pay off, huh?"

"I'm sure of it," Ginny grinned back at her. "And even if you can't get a job, you can always be my personal assistant."

Hermione snorted and nudged Ginny's leg with her foot, "You wish."

Ginny laughed, "I'd give you a uniform involving a very short skirt and a very tight tank top. I'd be the envy of all the Quidditch players."

The brunette laughed and nudged Ginny again, "Don't be silly."

"I'm being entirely serious," Ginny said, nodding emphatically. "You know half the Holyhead Harpies are into women, they'd be gawking at your killer legs."

Hermione grinned and nudged Ginny again, "Yeah, yeah. Whatever, Gin."

Ginny smiled at her and downed the rest of her champagne in one gulp. "What time is it?"

"It's..." Hermione checked her watch, "just past midnight. Perhaps we should sleep."

"Why don't we finish the rest of the champagne first?" Ginny asked, standing up. "We don't need to be up at any specific time."

Hermione looked up at her and smiled, sighing slightly. It felt so incredibly _good_ to just be with Ginny, so incredibly _good_ to sit and talk with her, not having to worry about Ron or Harry coming in to interrupt them. If it were up to her, they'd stay up all night, talking and laughing, nudging each other with that friendly affection that Hermione had gotten so used to.

"Alright. Go and grab the bottle then."

Ginny grinned down at her with almost a sultry twinkle in her eye, as though her plan to get Hermione to drink some more involved ulterior motives. When Ginny came back with the bottle, however, Hermione was sure she'd imagined it, sure that it was just her mind playing tricks on her.

_No, you know she wants you just as much as you want her._

That _damn_ voice again.

'_She doesn't, she's my best friend. The only looks she's giving me are platonic ones,' _Hermione thought angrily, clinking her glass with Ginny's as she raised hers to toast.

"You know," Ginny said, thoughtfully, breaking Hermione's train of thought as she leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs, "I'm kind of excited for tomorrow."

"How so?" Hermione asked, trying to look anywhere but at the skin leading up the redhead's legs towards her hips that had just been revealed in the change of position.

"Well, you're finally telling Ron that you've had enough. That's enough excitement in itself, but I'll finally find out what the hell's wrong with Harry." Ginny paused to sip her drink, "We've both had to deal with their bullshit for so long that all I really want right now is to see how tomorrow turns out."

"It might not turn out to be such a trivial thing," Hermione said gently. "It could be much more serious than we could imagine."

Ginny shrugged and sat up suddenly, turning her body to face Hermione and leaning forward. "I have you, and you have me. What else could we possibly need?"

Hermione smiled, leaning forward to take Ginny's free hand in hers, "You're right. Whatever happens, we have each other."

Ginny smiled back at her and leaned in closer to kiss her gently on the lips, "I do love you, Hermione."

_Told you so._

That _fucking goddamned _voice again! Hermione ignored it with every fibre of her being, taking Ginny's glass of champagne away and placing it down on the table in front of them,

"I think you've had a bit much to drink, Gin," she said, standing up.

Ginny shrugged again, "Well, we did finish the bottle," she said, looking at the empty bottle on the floor beside her chair.

"Come on, let's go to bed," Hermione said, taking Ginny's hands in hers and helping her to stand up. She led the younger woman into their room, closing the door and the curtains behind her.

"I wish we could run away together," Ginny said softly as she walked to her bag to retrieve her pyjamas from it. "We could go to France, Spain or Italy and you could brush up on your language skills," she continued, grinning happily to herself as she began to change.

Hermione felt her breath catch in her throat as she watched Ginny pull her dress up and over her head, kicking her shoes off and reaching around her back to try to undo her bra. The brunette tore her eyes away from Ginny as she succeeded, and busied herself with searching through her bag for her pyjamas.

_She's undressing in front of you, how can that not mean that she likes you?_

'_She's drunk,' _Hermione thought firmly. _'She doesn't know what she's doing.'_

"I'm going to change in the bathroom and brush my teeth," Hermione said quickly, standing up with her pyjamas in hand, and not looking at Ginny as she walked quickly into the bathroom.

"Hurry up, I want to sleep," Ginny said, plopping herself down on the bed lazily and watching Hermione walk away.

"I'll be as fast as I can."

Hermione closed the door behind her, dropping her clothing and immediately going to sit down on the toilet seat, burying her face in her hands as she lent her elbows on her knees. She knew that she'd just drunk half a bottle of champagne (or perhaps less, since Ginny seemed to be effected by the alcohol a little more), so she knew that what she was feeling and thinking was probably because of the alcohol. But that was entirely beside the point.

She was about to go and sleep in the same bed as the woman she'd masturbated to, the woman she'd imagined making love with. Her stomach jumped as she realised that Ginny had only a t-shirt and underwear on, knowing that if she felt her skin on hers, her whole body would react in an entirely un-platonic way.

Hermione sighed heavily and stood up, glancing at herself in the mirror before undressing. When her dress was discarded, she gazed at herself in the mirror again, chewing down on her bottom lip as her eyes trailed down to her crotch. She could feel that uncomfortable wet feeling already, and as she touched herself, her eyes rolled back as she realised just how turned on she was by the idea of sharing a bed with Ginny.

"Hermione?"

Ginny's voice surprised Hermione, making her withdraw her hand from her crotch swiftly and look at the door worriedly.

"Yes?" she called, hoping that Ginny wouldn't notice the way her voice wavered.

"Are you almost done?"

"Almost," Hermione said, undoing her bra and dropping it, bending down to pick her pyjama top up and slipping it on. "Just let me brush my teeth."

"Alright."

Hermione sighed, her fingers resting on her crotch again, before pulling her pyjama bottoms up, _'I don't need to do that now, she wants me to come to bed...'_

_Are you not hearing how that sounds?_ The voice suddenly reappeared, making Hermione scowl at herself as she began to brush her teeth.

'_I shouldn't even be doing that in the first place, let alone with Ginny in the next room,' _Hermione thought angrily, brushing her teeth very thoroughly.

_You did it when Ron was asleep next to you._

'_Yeah, well, I obviously respect Ginny more than him.'_ Hermione had finished brushing her teeth, and rinsed her mouth out before wiping her face on a towel. _'I'm not going to do it now, and I don't particularly need to do it now...'_

_Ginny's out there, lying in that bed, waiting for you with nothing on apart from a t-shirt and underwear._

Hermione bit her lip and took a deep breath, leaning on the counter and closing her eyes. She let the breath out slowly through her mouth, before straightening back up and looking at herself determinedly. Nothing would happen that night.

"Hermione!"

"Jeez, Gin, I'm coming," Hermione called back, gathering her discarded clothing and finally going out of the bathroom.

"You took your time," Ginny half grumbled, watching Hermione walk over to her bag to put what she was carrying away.

"I didn't realise there was a time limit," Hermione said, grinning slightly at Ginny, making the redhead finally crack a smile in response.

"Come on, then," Ginny said, slipping off the bed and pulling the sheets back. "We both need a good, long sleep for tomorrow."

"Yeah, we do," Hermione sighed, walking around to the other side of the bed and sitting down on it. "Are you sure that you want me to come with you tomorrow?"

"Yes," Ginny said firmly, pulling the sheets over her bare legs. She looked sideways at Hermione and frowned slightly, "Do you not want to come?"

"If you want me to be there for you, then I'll be there," Hermione said reassuringly, lying down and facing Ginny. "I'm glad you want me there."

Ginny smiled and lay down too, facing Hermione. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"Only if you want to. Like I said, I don't want to cause any animosity between you and your brother."

Ginny sighed and reached out for Hermione's hands, squeezing them softly, "After what he did tonight, I don't care."

"Fair enough." They lay there in silence for a few minutes, Hermione gazing down at their hands, wishing she could pull Ginny closer and touch more of her.

"Let's go to sleep," Ginny said suddenly, letting go of Hermione's hands and turning around on her other side. She looked back at Hermione for a moment, looking as though she was trying to decide something, before reaching back to take her wrist and placing it on her waist.

Hermione bit her lip and moved closer, her arm falling down to hold the redhead close, very aware that her breasts were pressed up against her back, and that her crotch was pressed up against Ginny's perfect arse.

"'Night," Ginny said happily, moving her hand down to rest on top of Hermione's.

"Goodnight," Hermione murmured, feeling very wide awake. She breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent of Ginny's hair, which only served to make her stomach lurch with a sudden _want_ for the beautiful woman next to her. She let the breath out slowly before closing her eyes and trying to relax.

* * *

To be continued...


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

**A/N: Again, I'm sorry that this has taken such a long time to come to you guys. I've been having trouble with the latter end of this chapter, but now I've banged this one out, it should be much easier to write. My university semester is ending soon (the 10th of June****, to be exact) and I'll have much more time to write. It's unbetaed, but I did just go back through it and didn't pick up on any mistakes... I'm sorry if you guys find some, though. I'm lazy lol.**

**This chapter is dedicated to the lovely, beautiful and amazing Carmela for inspiring the silly exchange a little further down. I hope you guys enjoy it, and please remember to review!**

* * *

**Unfamiliar Spell**

Hermione jerked awake the next morning, around nine o'clock, suddenly sitting up in the bed and looking around worriedly. She breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed Ginny, still asleep on the other side of the bed, and slid back down.

The night had hardly been a restful one for Hermione; it took her at least an hour or two to finally drift off to sleep, and when she did, she dreamt very vivid dreams.

First, she dreamed of the impending confrontation between herself and Ron, in which Ron ended up hitting her. After that, she had sought solace in Ginny's arms, crying and sobbing as the redhead held her. Hermione squirmed uncomfortably as she remembered what had happened next. She could still almost feel Ginny's touch, hear her telling her that it was alright, that she was going to take care of her from now on.

The brunette could feel a slow ache in between her legs as she replayed the dream over in her head, remembering how quick Ginny's fingers were, how skilled her tongue was, how she made Hermione moan her name out loud as she came in her dream, hips bucking and jerking, holding the redhead as close as she could.

Hermione squirmed again as her fingers found their way down to her crotch, feeling through her pyjama bottoms how utterly turned on she was by the dream. Glancing at Ginny to make sure she was still asleep, she threw caution to the wind and let her fingers move past her pyjamas and underwear, her whole body shivering with anticipation as she felt exactly how wet she was.

Glancing at Ginny again, she began to move her hand against herself, her whole body relaxing and then tensing up as her fingers moved expertly around her clit.

Ginny suddenly shifted in her sleep, rolling over to face Hermione, grunting slightly as she settled back down. Hermione's movements sped up slightly, chewing down on her bottom lip as she looked sideways at the sleeping woman beside her.

'_This isn't right,' _she thought furiously to herself, not ceasing in her motions, her breathing beginning to speed up.

_But it feels so fucking good..._

Hermione whimpered softly, keeping her eyes on the sleeping redhead next to her, partly to make sure she was still asleep, and partly because she was imagining that it was Ginny who was touching her.

Ginny moved again though, closer to the brunette, so close that she was now pressed up against her side. Hermione tensed up and stopped what she was doing, her lower body now throbbing annoyingly. Ginny sighed heavily and mumbled something in her sleep, snaking an arm across Hermione's abdomen, and resting her head on Hermione's shoulder.

The brunette sighed softly, withdrawing her hand from beneath her underwear, wiping her fingers thoroughly on the inside of her pyjama bottoms. Glancing over at the clock on the bedside table next to her, she realised that if they wanted to go down for breakfast, they needed to do so soon.

"Ginny," she murmured, nudging the redhead gently.

"Mmm," Ginny groaned, snuggling closer to her, moving one of her legs to slip it between Hermione's.

Hermione winced as Ginny grazed the spot where her hand had been, and nudged her again. "We need to get up if we want to go down for breakfast."

"Can't we get room-service again?" Ginny mumbled, tightening her hold on Hermione.

Hermione couldn't help laughing softly, "If you really want to. I'll call and order some then." She tried to move towards the phone, but found herself restrained by Ginny's arm. "Do you want to eat now?"

Ginny groaned softly and buried her face into Hermione's neck, "I'm so comfortable."

The brunette laughed again and stayed where she was. She wasn't really complaining, if she was honest with herself – it was absolute heaven snuggling with Ginny. It was almost as if their bodies fitted perfectly together, as though they were made for each other. Hermione smiled at this, knowing how incredibly clichéd that thought sounded.

_It's true though. You really did marry the wrong Weasley._

Hermione sighed softly, silently agreeing with her conscience. She couldn't remember a time where she had enjoyed cuddling Ron in the morning, or even after they made love. He usually rolled over to go to sleep, and she was left on her side of the bed, alone.

"Harry never cuddles me like this," Ginny murmured sleepily, smiling happily.

"He didn't when you were first together?"

Ginny shook her head, "No, he had his side of the bed, and I had mine. I don't really think he'd be anywhere near as good as you at it though. He's too big. You're small and warm and you smell nice."

"I need to shower," Hermione said slowly, frowning slightly.

"No, it's not that. It's just... you. You smell good, Hermione."

The older woman smiled at the younger one next to her, "I'm glad I smell good, then."

"So am I," Ginny said, grinning up at her.

They fell into a comfortable silence again, Hermione now wondering if Ginny was just smelling her, or if she could smell how turned on she was. She bit her lip and told herself to stop speculating on what Ginny could smell on her, and just enjoy the moment.

'_We might not be able to be like this for a while,' _she thought to herself, a sinking feeling forming in her stomach. _'Especially not if she finds out how I feel about her.'_

A small grumbling noise sounded from Ginny's stomach, breaking Hermione's train of thought and making her smile widely.

"I think you should eat something, Gin," she said softly, nudging her gently.

"I suppose," Ginny sighed, not moving from her position. "Can we have eggs and bacon and sausages and...?"

"I know what you like," Hermione cut across her, smiling at how absolutely adorable Ginny was.

"Good," Ginny said firmly, still not moving.

"You're going to have to let me reach the phone if you want all of that, you know."

Ginny sighed heavily and released her hold on Hermione, rolling over onto her back. "Alright."

Hermione ordered their food quickly before getting out of the bed to find some clothing for the day.

"I'm going to have a shower before the food gets here," Hermione said, standing up with her clothes in her arms.

Ginny yawned widely and nodded, sitting up in the bed. "I should have one too."

"I'll try to be fast, then," Hermione said, walking into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her. She undressed quickly, moving to the shower to turn it on. As she waited for the water to get warmer, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her form was still as slender as it had been before she'd had children, save for the slight stretch marks around her hips. She trailed her fingertips across her lower abdomen, making a small circle around her bellybutton before moving them up to hold her breasts. Her nipples were aching slightly, probably from her arousal, and she couldn't help pinching them gently. She sighed heavily as she watched herself, suddenly wondering if Ginny could ever reciprocate her feelings. If she could ever be attracted to her.

_She thinks you're beautiful_. That voice again.

'_That's a platonic thing, friends are supposed to tell each other that they're gorgeous,' _Hermione thought, sighing heavily as she turned around to check on the water. She stepped into the shower, closed the door behind her and turned her face up to the showerhead, letting the water cascade down her body.

_She thinks the lesbians in the Holyhead Harpies would be into you_.

'_Yeah, but...'_

_Come to think of it, she could be one of those lesbians._

Hermione frowned at herself, beginning to wash her hair. There couldn't be any way that Ginny was gay... could there?

'_No, she's been married to Harry for years, she's had his children and...'_

_You know for a fact that they haven't had sex in a long time._

'_That's not because of Ginny.'_

_Really? You haven't asked her how she feels about the lack of passion in her relationship. You don't know if she feels relieved that she doesn't have to deal with him at night. She told you that he never cuddled her, that there was no tenderness._

'_She didn't say that specifically.'_

_She didn't have to. You could tell, you know that he never really appreciated her as much as you do._

Hermione sighed, rinsing her hair out. Yes, she knew that. Harry had always maintained that the pair of them had broken up before they set out to defeat Voldemort because he didn't want her to become a target, but Hermione always knew that it was because he had found her annoying. It had been very easy for him to just go back to her after the war; after all, all he ever really wanted was a family. But again, Hermione found it hard to believe that Harry would treat Ginny with such disdain when she was the one who gave that to him.

She sighed again, washing her body thoroughly, making it a point _not_ to do anything that would elicit a pleasurable response. Turning the shower off, she stepped out and dried herself off with a clean towel before dressing quickly.

_There's every chance that she could feel the same way_, the voice murmured softly.

"There's every chance that she doesn't," Hermione murmured back, hanging her towel up and looking at herself in the mirror once more. _'Don't get your hopes up,'_ she thought, firmly.

Satisfied that she didn't look like a crazy person contemplating the sexuality of her best friend, she grabbed her pyjamas, walked to the bathroom door and opened it, greeted by the sight of Ginny sitting on the edge of the bed.

"The food's not here yet," she pouted at Hermione, crossing her arms and looking incredibly cute.

Hermione laughed softly, "I didn't know you were such a petulant child in the morning, Ginny."

Ginny poked her tongue out at Hermione before grinning widely and flopping back down on the bed. "Only for you, Hermione."

Hermione laughed again and sat down on the bed next to her, lying back and turning her head to face her. "I'm so glad we're here, together."

"Me too," Ginny sighed, her hand reaching down to grasp Hermione's. "I can't think of anyone else I'd rather be with."

Hermione smiled and squeezed her hand. "When do you want to go talk to them?"

"After I've showered. Who do you want to talk to first?"

Hermione shrugged, "I have no idea. If we go to Ron first, he could immediately go to Harry, but Harry could do the same."

"Maybe we should do this on our own then..."

"No," Hermione cut across her. "You said you needed me to come with you. We can go to Harry first, and depending on how that turns out, we can go to Ron's after."

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked, frowning slightly at her.

Hermione shrugged again, "We don't know how it'll turn out. If we go to Harry first, at least we can then make the decision on whether to talk to Ron today or tomorrow."

Ginny nodded, looking up at the ceiling.

"I'm just being realistic," Hermione said gently, turning on her side and propping herself up on an elbow. "Just in case."

Ginny smiled at the brunette and nodded, pulling Hermione closer so they were hugging. "Thank you," she whispered to her ear.

There was a sudden knock on the door, followed by someone calling out, "Room service!"

Hermione reluctantly moved off Ginny and stood up, going to open the door. "Hi," she said, smiling at the man as he wheeled their breakfast into the room.

"'Morning," he said cheerfully, crossing the room to place their food on the table. "How was your night?"

"Very, very good," Ginny said, standing up and moving to stand next to Hermione, smirking at him as she slid an arm around the brunette's waist.

"Y-yes," Hermione stuttered, looking down at Ginny with a shocked expression on her face.

Ginny winked at her and continued, "The bed was incredibly comfortable."

He laughed nervously as she planted a tender kiss on Hermione's cheek and averted his eyes, busying himself with straightening the tray up on the table.

"Well, I hope you ladies have a good day," he said, wheeling the trolley out with his head down.

"Oh, hold on a moment," Hermione said, crossing the room to get her purse. She withdrew some money and handed it to him, "Thank you."

"I don't suppose you could bring us some dessert tonight?" Ginny asked, still smirking. "Perhaps a bottle of chocolate sauce and some ice cream?"

"Uh, s-sure," he said, looking at the pair of them with wide eyes.

"Thank you, very much," Ginny purred, chewing down on her bottom lip as she let her eyes rake up and down Hermione's body.

"Okay, then, thank you!" Hermione said quickly, ushering the man out of the room and closing the door behind him. "Ginny!" she said reproachfully, not bothering to hide the smile on her face.

"What?" Ginny asked, still smirking. "They seem to think we're together, why not play up to it for an amusing reaction?"

Hermione laughed and shook her head, "Alright, I'll admit that that was hilarious."

"We should do that for the rest of today," Ginny said, grinning widely as she turned to walk to the table.

Hermione smiled, following the redhead (_not_ looking at her lower back) and sitting down opposite her at the table. "You want people to think we're together?"

"You said yourself that it's hilarious," Ginny shrugged, picking her knife and fork up and beginning to delve into the delicious breakfast before her.

"We could get some bad reactions," Hermione said, sighing slightly as she watched Ginny eat.

"Society is supposedly much more open-minded than it once was," Ginny said reasonably, looking up at Hermione. She frowned, "Are you worried about the kind of reaction you'd get if you ended up in a lesbian relationship?"

Hermione sighed and looked away from her, "Not necessarily from random people on the street. I'm more worried about the reaction I'd get from my children."

"And mum?"

Hermione smiled and looked back at the redhead, "Ginny, your mother might scare you and the rest of the boys, but I've never found her to be so terrifying. Besides, I'd think she'd be more concerned with the fact that Ron and I are heading for divorce."

Ginny shrugged and continued eating, "It's just that she had her heart set on one big, happy Weasley family while we were all at school, and she got that after we left. She's been so ecstatic with the way that everything turned out that I don't know if she'll be able to let it go quite so easily, especially if you come out and say that you're in love with a woman."

"I know that," Hermione sighed heavily. "But I'm sick and tired of pushing my feelings away just to make your family happy."

"Hey, I'm not saying that you shouldn't do what you plan on doing today," Ginny said quickly. "I'm just saying that we should be prepared for what my mother has to say about the whole issue."

"I still don't see how it's any of her business..."

Ginny laughed softly, "Come on, Hermione, you've seen how she acts around us at all the family dinners. Constantly asking how married life is, even after fifteen years, asking how the children are, what our husbands are doing. That's her way of controlling situations, she has to know every little detail so that she can manipulate us into the best course of action that she sees fit. I love my mother, but she's a busy-body with not a lot left to do now that we've all left home."

Hermione frowned, a sinking feeling forming in her stomach rapidly. "So you're saying that I should be ready to listen to what she has to say about solving all of our problems, but then ignore her solutions?"

"Not necessarily ignore them, just say that you understand where she's coming from but you've tried your hardest to make it work."

Hermione nodded slowly, now glaring down at her food.

"Hey," Ginny said softly, reaching across the table to hold Hermione's hand. "If it helps, I'll be there with you, because I'm sure she'll do the same to me."

The brunette smiled weakly and squeezed Ginny's hand before picking up her knife and fork. "Alright."

"It'll be okay, nothing she can say will change the fact that you're not happy, and that you haven't been happy for a very long time."

Hermione nodded again and began to eat. They finished their breakfast in silence, both thinking about what they were about to do.

* * *

Once Ginny had showered and dressed, the pair left their room and went down in the elevator to the ground floor, Ginny insistently holding Hermione's hand and standing very close to her, just for the reaction of strangers, Hermione reminded herself constantly. They quickly organised to stay another night (with Ginny persistently clinging to Hermione's waist, pressing her body against hers and almost making Hermione lose her train of thought) before going outside to hail a taxi.

"We'll go to your place first," Hermione said, settling herself in the back seat.

"Alright," Ginny said softly, chewing down on her bottom lip as she gazed out the window.

"Hey," Hermione said gently, reaching across to hold Ginny's hand, "it'll be okay."

Ginny smiled and squeezed her hand, "I know. I hope he's at home."

"It's the weekend, he doesn't go to work or anything. He should be there."

* * *

"Harry?" Ginny called as they entered the house.

"What?" he yelled back, sounding incredibly irritated. "You think you can just leave like you did last night and come back..."

"Shut up, Harry," Hermione snapped as he stormed into the hall.

He stopped in his tracks and glared at Hermione, grinding his teeth. "What do you two want?" he asked coldly.

"I want to talk to you," Ginny said gently, stepping forward. "Hermione's just here for support."

"If this is concerning our relationship, I'd prefer it if Hermione wasn't here," Harry said, glaring at Hermione and crossing his arms.

"Too bad," Ginny snapped, glaring at him. "We're going to go into the living room, sit down, and talk about why you've been so incredibly rude lately."

Harry opened his mouth to snap back at her, but Hermione cut across him, "Don't argue, Harry. My threat still stands from last night."

He closed his mouth and frowned, thinking for a moment. "Fine," he conceded, turning his back on them and walking towards the living room.

Ginny glanced at Hermione quickly, before taking her hand very tightly and leading her to the living room.

"Why did you leave last night?" Harry asked, plonking himself down on the sofa and crossing his legs, glaring up at the pair of them.

"Because you and Ron don't seem to understand how to treat us," Hermione said quickly, following Ginny to sit down next to her on the opposite sofa.

Ginny nodded, looking sideways at Hermione. "How you acted last night wasn't appropriate in any setting, Harry. You treated me as if I was the scum of the earth."

Harry sighed and rubbed his eyes, frowning heavily. "I didn't mean to make you feel like that. I wasn't comfortable with what you were wearing, and you had a bad attitude when you were talking with my boss."

"No, I was perfectly nice and polite, and my dress was less revealing that Hermione's," Ginny said softly. "You didn't seem to have a problem with Hermione's dress."

"She's not my wife. If Ron's happy with her looking like a slut then that's his business."

Hermione glared at him but kept her mouth shut, her hands balling up into fists on her lap.

"She didn't look like a slut," Ginny said harshly, glaring at her husband. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't use language like that."

Harry sighed heavily and leaned forward, "I don't know what you want me to say, then."

"I want you to tell me why you've been treating me like shit," the redhead snapped, glaring at him again. "After everything I've done for you, what the hell makes you think that you can be such an arsehole?"

Harry remained silent, not meeting her eyes, staring at the floor.

"I'd like to work through this with you if it's just stress with work, or something like that, but if you're not willing to be honest with me, then I'm done," Ginny said weakly, leaning back into the sofa.

"You know how stressful work is," he said softly. "All I want to do when I come home is eat the dinner you make for me, have a drink and then go to bed."

"Is that all it is?"

Harry remained silent again, still staring at the ground. Hermione frowned, "What aren't you telling her?"

"Nothing," Harry snapped, looking up at her.

"You were never a good liar, Harry."

He grit his teeth and glanced down at the scar bearing the words _I must not tell lies_, cracking his fingers in what she assumed to be a menacing way.

"If you won't be honest with me, then I'm done," Ginny repeated.

"You'll be done either way," he muttered, glaring back down at the ground.

Ginny frowned, "What did you do?"

"I didn't mean to, you have to know that," he said, looking up at her. "You know that all I ever wanted was to be with you and our children. You know that."

Hermione sighed, looking at Ginny as a wave of realisation graced her face. She knew what was coming, she knew what he was about to say.

"I've been seeing someone else."

* * *

To be continued...


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

**A/N: In celebration of the end of exams and the semester, here is a long-ish chapter of Unfamiliar Spell! I hope you guys enjoy it... I would like to apologise if my description of the Pantheon is off somehow, it's been a few years since I've been to Rome and my memory is a little fuzzy in places. This has not been beta-ed, so please excuse any mistakes made. Dedicated to the beautiful Carmela again, just because she's amazing :P Please remember to review guys, I really would appreciate it!**

**Unfamiliar Spell**

It felt like the room was silent for hours. Hermione had her eyes focused on Ginny, watching the look of realisation melt into anger and hurt. She just sat there, unable to speak, glaring at her soon to be ex-husband. Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat, staring down at the floor again. Hermione could tell that, even though he'd been such a prick, he felt bad about what he'd done.

"You were right," Ginny said softly, her eyes flashing in anger. "I'm done."

Silence again. Hermione bit down on her bottom lip, seeing the tears forming at the corners of Ginny's eyes, feeling a new wave of anger rise up from her stomach to her throat, making her feel as though she wanted to throw up. She could hardly believe what he'd done. Sure, she'd thought about the possibility, but never in a million years would she have believed that Harry would betray his family like this.

"I'm..."

"Don't," Ginny snapped, the tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. "You betrayed me, and our children. You've torn this family apart, Harry."

"It's not entirely my fault," he responded quickly, looking back up at her and glaring again. "If you had been..."

"What? A more loving wife? If I'd not continued to play Quidditch? Do you think you wouldn't have done this if I was constantly at home without a life?" Ginny's voice was surprisingly steady as she spat her words at Harry. Hermione eyes flickered between the pair of them, knowing that she should remain silent and let Ginny give what was coming to him.

"If you had focused more on our relationship, I wouldn't have had to find someone else," he said, clenching his hands around his knees. "If you were home more..."

"I wasn't the one who checked out of this relationship," Ginny snapped, her voice wavering slightly. "You were the one who stayed late at work, you collapsed into bed and wanted nothing to do with me. We haven't had a proper conversation in five years because you've been too tired, too wrapped up in your own _fucking _thoughts. I tried my hardest to get through to you, but all you did was swear at me and push me away. I'm surprised the kids haven't asked me what's been wrong when they've been home." She groaned suddenly, covering her face with her hands, "What the hell are we supposed to tell them?"

Harry simply shrugged and resumed staring at the floor.

"I'm done," she repeated, lowering her hands from her face and glaring at him again. "I'm done with you and your bullshit, and don't even think that you can try to stop me."

He still didn't say anything.

"Look at me," Ginny hissed at him, standing up and moving to stand in front of him.

He slowly raised his eyes to meet hers, grinding his teeth. She glared down at him for a second before she slapped him across the face. He stood up immediately and grabbed her wrist, stopping her from hitting him a second time, squeezing it tightly.

Hermione stood up too, reaching for her wand. He let her wrist go as he saw the thin wooden object appear in her hand, glaring at it. He raised a hand to his cheek and rubbed it gently.

"I deserved that," he said softly, gazing down at her.

"I'm glad you can accept that, at least," Ginny spat at him, restraining herself from hitting him again. "We're leaving." She looked back at Hermione, who nodded, before saying to Harry, "I'll be back to get my things tomorrow."

He didn't say anything as she turned her back on him, pulling Hermione close to hug her tightly.

"Apparate us back to the hotel," she whispered to her ear, her crying becoming more apparent. Hermione nodded, shooting Harry one last glare as she held the redhead tightly and concentrated.

* * *

Thankfully, their room had already been attended to by the cleaning staff of the hotel by the time they appeared there. Hermione did not let go of Ginny, feeling her go slightly weak as her sobs overtook every other emotion. She simply held the redhead's shivering body as she cried, rubbing her back gently in an attempt to calm her down somewhat, making soft shushing sounds.

"Come on," she finally murmured, pulling back slightly. "We'll be more comfortable if we lie down."

Ginny sniffed and nodded dejectedly, following Hermione to the bed, not letting go of her hand. They lay down, Hermione on her back and Ginny snuggled up into her side, draping one leg across the brunette to let it rest in between her legs. They lay there like that for a while, Ginny's body shaking with her soft sobs, clinging onto Hermione as though her life depended on it. Hermione had no idea what to do, other than to hold her close, gently brushing away her hair every time it fell down to cover her eyes. She didn't bother saying anything, knowing that nothing she could say would make the tears go away.

Ginny shifted slightly, her thigh rubbing between Hermione's legs briefly, causing her stomach to lurch suddenly. An image of the pair of them making furious, passionate love entered her mind immediately, making her shut her eyes tightly, as though she was worried that if Ginny happened to look up at her, she'd be able to see past her eyes to what her mind imagined. Their naked bodies entwined together, their seat mingling and their mouths touching, tasting each other's sweet saliva. God, how she wanted to pull Ginny closer and kiss her tears away, how she wanted to ignore the devastating news the redhead had just heard and sweep her off her feet.

"I don't know what I should do now," Ginny mumbled, sniffing and breaking the image in Hermione's mind.

The brunette opened her eyes and looked down at her, sighing softly as she noticed the tear tracks down the redhead's cheeks. "Just stay here in bed with me." She inwardly cringed at the unknown innuendo that permeated her phrase, the image of them making love entering her mind again.

"I didn't mean that," Ginny sighed too, closing her eyes and sniffing again.

"At least you know now why he's been conflicting for the past while," Hermione offered. "You can make an informed decision about what to do."

"This isn't about being logical, Hermione," Ginny said, slightly harshly, her eyes flying open to glare up at her. "He betrayed my trust, and that of our children, and he clearly has no intention of stopping."

"I'm not trying to be logical, I'm trying to make you feel better," the older woman said softly. "I'm sorry, but the decision about what to do is entirely up to you."

"How are we supposed to talk to the kids about this?" Ginny asked, groaning at the thought.

Hermione stayed silent this time, not wanting to say anything that might elicit a harsh comment again.

Ginny sighed again and raised her head to look at Hermione, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you."

"You just found out that your husband has been cheating on you, you're allowed to snap at whoever you want."

The younger woman smiled weakly at her, "Least of all you, though. I'm sorry..."

"Stop apologising," Hermione said quickly, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "Look, we don't need to think about what happened today yet. The kids are still at school, we have this beautiful hotel room to stay in, and we have money to spend on whatever you wish."

"I'd like to have some sort of idea on how to deal with this when I need to, though."

"Do you want to know what I think?"

Ginny looked at her and nodded, "Always."

"We should go back there first thing in the morning and pack all of your things up. I mean everything. You're leaving him, right?"

Ginny nodded again.

"We can take it back to my place, or to your mother's, and not deal with it for a day or two, at least until we find another, more permanent place, for us to stay."

Ginny frowned, "Us?"

"I've already decided that I'm leaving Ron, and I don't think you should be left to your own devices."

Ginny smiled, "Think I'll do something stupid?"

Hermione smiled and shook her head, "No, I just think, after everything he said today, that you should be with someone."

"Fair enough. I have to admit that I really don't want to be alone at the moment. Are you going to tell Ron today?"

"After what you've already had to hear, I thought..."

"No, you need to tell him today," Ginny said decisively. "Besides, I want to find out if he knew anything about this."

Hermione frowned, "I doubt it."

Ginny shrugged, "I'm not saying he knew anything, but I want to rule out that possibility. He is Harry's best friend, after all."

"Alright. If you want me to talk to Ron, we should go do that soon. I'm just not entirely sure where to put our stuff when we clear it out tomorrow."

"Hermione, you're really not thinking like a witch," Ginny said, grinning slightly. "We can shrink it all to fit in one suitcase and just take that back here with us."

Hermione grinned back at her, "Hey, I'm a muggle at heart, remember?"

Ginny laughed softly, "Yeah, yeah."

"Do you feel any better, then?"

Ginny nodded, "Yes, thank you." She sighed heavily and snuggled closer, tightening her grip on Hermione's waist, "I'm so glad I have you."

Hermione smiled and couldn't help kissing the top of her head, "You'll always have me."

Ginny turned her head to look up at the brunette, a quizzical look forming in her eyes, and she looked as though she was about to ask a very important question for a moment. But the look faded, and she settled back down into Hermione's embrace.

"When should we go, then?"

"Once you've calmed down a little, I think. Perhaps after we eat something."

Ginny nodded and sniffed slightly, snuggling a little closer to Hermione. "Where do you want to go for lunch?"

"There's always room-service," Hermione said, grinning slightly. "We can scare the server again."

Ginny giggled softly, "That's always fun. I kind of feel like getting out of here, though. We could scare the general muggle public, if you'd like."

"If you'd like. What kind of food would you like to eat?"

Ginny thought for a second, before turning her face to look up at Hermione, "What kind of food do they serve at those places with that giant yellow 'M'?"

Hermione made a face and cringed slightly, "Greasy burgers and incredibly salty chips."

Ginny laughed, "Okay, we won't go there. I don't mind either way, a sandwich would do me just fine."

"How about pizza? I know a nice little Italian place that makes the second best pizza I've ever had."

"What came in first place?"

"Pizza from a vendor when I visited Rome," Hermione said, a grin spreading across her features. "It was incredible."

Ginny laughed again, looking up at her, "We could always go to Rome."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "You want to go to Rome?"

Ginny shrugged, "You speak a little Italian, I don't see why not. I've always wanted to see the Parthenon."

Hermione snorted softly, "Pantheon. The Parthenon is in Athens, in Greece."

"Well, we can go there next week."

The brunette laughed softly, "What about Quidditch training?"

"I'm sure the girls will understand that I need a little time to get away, after they hear what Harry's been doing. No doubt it'll hit _Witch Weekly_ at some point anyway."

"We should probably tell your family before it does, though," Hermione said thoughtfully, sighing slightly.

Ginny sighed as well, "Not today. We can do that after we've taken our stuff out of the houses. I don't even want to think about talking to my family today, I just want to go to Rome for lunch, with you."

"And then we'll go and talk to Ron," Hermione said softly.

"And then we'll go and talk to Ron," she repeated, nodding.

"If we want to go to Rome, we should probably get going, then."

Ginny nodded again and reluctantly moved away from Hermione, sitting up and sliding across the bed to sit on the edge.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, watching the redhead stand up.

Ginny turned and smiled a weak smile down at her, "I'll be alright. Come on, I'd like to do a little sight-seeing while we're there."

Hermione nodded and slipped off the other side of the bed, walking around it to grab her purse. "We should make a quick stop at the bank before we leave, I should change some money."

"They don't use the same money as the muggles here?"

Hermione grinned at her, "No, for some reason the English haven't seen fit to switch from the pound to the euro yet. Which is probably a good thing since the euro isn't doing too well at the moment."

Ginny frowned, "They have different value systems?"

Hermione laughed, "Economics, Ginny, they really should teach it at Hogwarts."

"It sounds complicated, I'm pretty sure I'd be glad to have missed it," the redhead said, smiling at her. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

After a quick stop at the nearest bank and authorising their visit to Rome at the Ministry of Magic, they found themselves standing in a deserted alley, surrounded by tall buildings.

"Come on," Hermione said, taking Ginny's hand as she led her out of the alley into the bustling streets of Rome. "The Trevi Fountain," she said, gesturing at it with her free hand and smiling happily.

"It's pretty impressive what muggles can do," Ginny said, gazing up at it with wide eyes. "What do you know about it?"

"Not a lot about its origins," Hermione sighed. "But legend says that if you throw a coin into it, you're going to return to Rome someday. Some people think that if you throw in two, you'll find yourself in a new romance, and three will guarantee a marriage or divorce. Muggles have an odd affection for superstitions."

Ginny smiled, "I suppose neither of us have to throw in three, then."

Hermione smiled and looked sideways at her, "I suppose not."

"It is beautiful though."

The pair stood in silence for a few minutes, standing a little further back from the rest of the crowd, taking in its magnificence. Hermione found herself fantasizing about what would happen if she threw two coins into the fountain, sighing slightly as she reminded herself that it was only a silly muggle superstition.

"I want to throw a coin in there," Ginny said suddenly, turning to look at her.

The older woman smiled and fished a coin out of her purse, handing it to her and watching her weave her way through the crowd to the edge of the fountain. She paused at the edge, bowing her head to gaze down at the coin in her hand, leaving Hermione with a sudden yearn to know exactly what she was thinking. She looked so lost as she stood there with her head bowed, that Hermione felt that urge to sweep her off her feet again. She suddenly felt consumed with an unyielding hatred for Harry, for what he'd done, for the way he'd hurt her. The hatred suddenly dissipated, though, as Ginny threw the coin to the depths of the fountain, turning her head to look back at Hermione with a beaming smile on her face. The brunette smiled back at her, watching her weave her way back through the crowd to walk back to her, still with that smile.

"Happy?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, yes. I think it's important to indulge in a little muggle behaviour, every now and then," Ginny said, grinning happily as she took Hermione's hand again. "Now, lead me to that supposed amazing pizza."

Hermione laughed before leading the redhead through the crowds, over the cobblestoned streets, towards the Pantheon.

* * *

"Grazie," Hermione thanked the pizza vendor as she handed Ginny a slice of pizza. The redhead bit into it, a grin spreading across her features as she savoured the taste. Hermione laughed softly, "Was I right?"

Ginny nodded happily, "Of course you were. I never doubted you for a moment."

"I'm glad," the brunette said, taking a bite of her pizza and chewing on it thoughtfully. "The Pantheon is quite close. Do you want to go?"

Ginny grinned with a mouthful of pizza, "Is it similar to the Parthenon?"

Hermione couldn't help giggling as the pair linked arms and began to wander through the crowds, "Not really. It was originally a temple to the Roman gods, but now it's one of the oldest, if not the oldest, churches in existence, which is still used for worship. The Parthenon is a temple to the Goddess Athena."

"Aren't temples and churches kind of the same thing?"

"The Parthenon wasn't for public worship," Hermione shrugged. "It was built to honour Athena's protection over Athens, whereas the Pantheon is simply a place where the public can come to participate in Catholicism. And tourism," she added as an afterthought.

"Muggles seem to have an affection for an overabundance of religions too," Ginny said, chewing on her pizza thoughtfully. "Why do they feel the need to explain our existence?"

"Wizards do it too," Hermione pointed out. "We just don't do it in terms of worshipping supposed divine beings. The good thing about muggle religions is that they've provided incredible cultural significance which has survived throughout the millennia; the Egyptians built pyramids for their earliest Pharaohs and inscribed the stories of their lives, and that of their gods, on the walls. The Greeks built incredible temples and shrines to their gods, and the Christians have built some of the most amazing Churches to provide the people with a place to worship. Every race of people with a specific religion has added onto a long list of architectural achievements, with their desire to please their gods with magnificent symbols of their beliefs."

Ginny smiled, "You certainly know a lot about all of this."

Hermione grinned, "I have a very general knowledge of most of Europe's early history. I think it's important to understand how society has evolved, and where it's come from. I don't personally agree with any of these muggle religions, but I do think that the cultural impact they've had is incredibly important. I mean, look at St Paul's Cathedral in London. Merely looking up at that building inspires such an awe in me that I feel as though I could burst into tears."

Ginny was silent for a moment, watching the brunette intently. As Hermione looked at her, she smiled and leaned closer to kiss her cheek gently, "I love it when you get all excited about stuff like this."

Hermione blushed and laughed nervously, looking away from the redhead quickly. "You know that knowledge is my passion, I just find all this history fascinating."

"I know," Ginny said, smiling at her. "You sound so passionate whenever you talk about this stuff, I could listen to you rambling on and on about it all day."

Hermione blushed a darker shade of red and bit her lip, her mind lingering on the word _passionate_.

Ginny laughed softly, "You don't need to feel embarrassed, I think it's good that you get so excited about history."

'_You don't know the half of it_,' Hermione thought, sighing slightly as she put on a smile and looked back at Ginny. "Come on, I'm pretty sure it's just around the corner."

As the pair rounded the next corner, they were greeted by a large piazza with a fountain in the centre. The Pantheon was across the other side of the square, so they slowly made their way through the crowds towards it.

"It's huge," Ginny said in an undertone, gazing up at the giant columns supporting the pediment. "How on earth did they build something like this?"

"With a lot of manpower," Hermione said, gazing up at the columns too, smiling happily. "Do you want to go inside?"

Ginny nodded and followed her through the entrance, looking around with wide eyes and her mouth slightly open. Hermione couldn't help giggling softly to herself as she turned to look at her; she looked as though it was her first trip to Honeydukes in Hogsmeade.

"Close your mouth," Hermione whispered to her, laughing softly as Ginny shut it quickly and grinned slightly.

"Sorry," she whispered back. "It's just so..."

"I know," Hermione said, beginning to lead her around the side of the circular building.

"Is that a tomb?" Ginny asked, frowning slightly as they stopped in front of a statue of a woman holding a small child.

Hermione nodded, "The Pantheon has also been used as a tomb since the Renaissance. I think this one is the tomb of Raphael, a painter."

Ginny shuddered slightly, "That's so creepy. Someone's bones are underneath that?"

Hermione smiled, "You fought Death Eaters during the war, what makes this so creepy?"

"I don't know, it's just... weird. Muggles are so strange," she said quietly, moving away from a couple of them who had come up to inspect the statue. She sighed and turned her attention away from the statue and looked up at the ceiling. "It is beautiful in here, though."

Hermione nodded again and looked up as well, "It is. You know, the dome of the Pantheon is the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world."

"I don't think I understood half of what you just said, but it sounds impressive," Ginny said, tearing her eyes away from the circular opening at the centre of the dome to grin sheepishly at Hermione.

The brunette laughed softly, "Never mind. You know, we should probably leave within the hour. It's getting late, and I really should see Ron before it gets to dinner."

"He'll be wondering where you've been," Ginny said, sighing slightly as she turned around in a circle, taking in the magnificence of the Pantheon as best she could within a few seconds. "We'll have to come back here at some point to spend an adequate amount of time exploring."

"Oh, Gin, you haven't even seen the Colosseum yet," Hermione said, smiling as she watched Ginny's eyes taking in as much as they could. "Don't worry, we'll come back."

"We'd better," Ginny said, taking Hermione's hand again and following her as she led the redhead out of the Pantheon. "Thank you, Hermione," she said, squeezing her hand as they made their way out into the sunlight.

"Any excuse to flaunt my knowledge of history," Hermione said, grinning at Ginny.

* * *

To be continued...


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

**A/N: Okay, I'm sorry this took a while to come to you guys... it was finished a while ago, but I've been busy with applying for jobs (being unemployed sucks) and organising a party... and then getting blind drunk and being generally embarrassing :) lol. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's a little shorter than the last one, but hopefully I'll be able to make up for it with the next chapter. This chapter is dedicated to my grandfather, who passed away last December; we used to sit down in his apartment and talk for hours on end about history, culture (and Christianity, but I used to change the subject asap lol). I just wanted to pay tribute to his memory and influence on me :)**

**This is unbetaed, so please excuse any mistakes made. Lastly, please remember to review once you've finished reading!**

* * *

**Unfamiliar Spell**

"You know, we should go to Venice when we come back to Italy," Hermione said thoughtfully, as the pair of them made their way through the streets of Rome towards the Trevi Fountain.

"Why?"

"Well, for one thing, it's beautiful. The _Piazza San Marco_ is one of my favourite places in the world. Secondly, I had the most amazing sparkling red wine in a little restaurant around the corner from it," the brunette said, smiling wistfully.

Ginny grinned, "It seems that your favourite places in the world are based on your culinary experiences, Hermione."

Hermione laughed softly, "A girl has to eat. Why not indulge?"

Ginny smiled, squeezing past a pair of large Italian women speaking in undertones, "When we get back to London we should plan these trips, then. And I insist on paying for them this time."

Hermione frowned, "Why?"

"Hermione, you've been paying for the hotel and you paid for our trip here. You're not the only one rolling in money, you know Quidditch has been good to me."

"Alright, if you insist. We should start planning after we've sorted everything out with Harry and Ron, though," Hermione said, squeezing her hand gently.

Ginny sighed and nodded, "I know."

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked, stopping in her tracks and pulling Ginny to face her.

The redhead smiled weakly, "I'm fine. It's just that I had such a good time here, I was beginning to forget what's been going on at home."

Hermione pulled her closer for a hug, whispering to her ear, "It'll be good to sort everything out. The kids don't come home for another month, and we'll be free to travel as much as you want."

Ginny nodded, "I know. I just can't figure out how to tell them..."

"It'll be okay. They'll understand, eventually."

Ginny nodded and sighed, pulling back from Hermione's embrace. She gave the brunette a small smile before taking her hand again, "Come on. You need to talk to Ron."

* * *

"Ron?" Hermione called through the house, walking though the hall towards the living room.

"I'm in the kitchen!" he called back.

Hermione glanced at Ginny with a worried look on her face before the pair of them made their way through to the kitchen.

"Where've you been?" he asked, frowning at them as they came into the room.

"I told you last night, we've been staying at a hotel," Hermione said wearily, crossing the room to sit down across from him at the table. "Have you spoken to Harry today?"

Ron shook his head, "No. He was pretty angry that you two left last night, I thought it best to leave him alone. I was pretty angry too, you know."

Hermione sighed, "Look, after what he said to Ginny, she really wasn't in a state to stay there and act like everything was okay. You saw the way he reacted to what she was wearing, and you heard him call her a slut."

"Last night was pretty important for us, Hermione. The least you could've done was to stay there and keep to yourselves," he said, glaring at her.

"I'm not having this argument with you again," Hermione snapped, staring daggers at him. "I've explained why we left, if your Neanderthal brain can't understand that, then you really do have the emotional range of a teaspoon."

Ron remained silent, his face going slightly purple.

"This isn't why we've come here," Ginny said quietly. "I don't want to argue with you, Ron, and I know that Hermione doesn't want to either. I have a question for you. Did you know that Harry's been cheating on me?"

"What?" Ron snapped, looking up at his little sister. "He's been cheating on you?"

Ginny nodded, "We found out this morning."

Ron groaned, "That explains everything."

Hermione frowned, "What do you mean?"

Ron shot a glare at his wife before looking up at Ginny again, "One of the women from work has been working closely with him on a project that isn't supposed to concern us. Every time I asked him if he needed any help with it, he just grinned and shook his head, saying that they were working just fine together."

"How could you not know that something was going on?" Hermione asked, glaring at him.

"I'm not a goddamned mind-reader, Hermione, and I've had enough on my plate, having to deal with what I've been working on," Ron snapped at her. "You have no idea how stressful the last few months have been for me."

Hermione remained silent this time, biting down on her tongue so she didn't say something she'd regret.

"Ron, you should've put two and two together," Ginny said, crossing her arms and suddenly looking very pale. "Hermione's right, it was happening under your nose and you didn't even consider what could be going on."

"I'm sorry, Gin," he said, sighing heavily. "I really am, if I'd thought anything like that was going on, I would've stopped it."

Ginny sighed too and sat down next to Hermione, "I know."

A silence fell on the room as they sat there, Ron still looking slightly purple with anger, and Hermione looking at Ginny worriedly. Perhaps now wasn't the best time to bring her problems up.

Ginny sniffed slightly, wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes and looked across at Hermione. "You should tell him."

"Tell me what?" Ron asked, frowning again.

"Is now really the best time?" Hermione asked Ginny, chewing down on her bottom lip as she noticed more tears forming.

Ginny nodded, "Best to tell him sooner, rather than later."

"Tell me what?" Ron repeated, frowning heavily now, glaring at his wife and his sister. "What happened?"

"Ron, I..." Hermione sighed, trying to think of the best way to form her sentences in a way that would lessen the blow, somewhat. "I'm leaving."

_Good job, that really wasn't harsh at all_, her conscience said, suddenly popping up. Hermione ignored it and focused her eyes on her husband, who was now looking as though she'd just kicked him in between the legs.

"What?" he asked softly.

"I just... I need... We need to get a divorce," Hermione said quietly, chewing down hard on her bottom lip.

"No we don't," he said defiantly. "Just because we had a little argument?"

Hermione sighed heavily and shook her head, "No, not just because of one little argument. Because of all the other little arguments we've had over the years. Because I'm not happy with this stage in my life, and what I want most is to be happy."

"I can make you happy," Ron said quickly, the angry look on his face dissipating to one that resembled desperation. "Please, don't do this. I love you."

"I know you do," Hermione said softly, reaching out to hold his hands. "I know you love me, and I know that all you want is for everything to be okay. But it's not, and it hasn't been for a long time. I need you to understand that."

"Just tell me what to do to stop this from happening," he said, squeezing her hands. "Please, I don't want to lose you."

"There's nothing you can do. I'm sorry, Ron, but I can't keep pretending that I'm happy with us. I can't take the silly little arguments, and I don't like being stuck at home all day with nothing to do. I need to feel happy again, and I can't do that in this relationship."

"What about the kids? Are you going to do this to them too?" he asked, the anger beginning to make an appearance on his face again. "What do you think they're going to say?"

"I have no idea what I'm going to say to them," Hermione sighed. "But I'm hoping that at some point, they'll understand why I'm doing this."

"Is there someone else?" he asked, pulling his hands away from Hermione's and glaring at her. "Have you been cheating on me like Harry's been cheating on Ginny?"

"Of course not!" Hermione exclaimed. "I would never betray you like that. I do still love you, Ron..."

"If you love me, then why not stay with me?" he grumbled, crossing his arms.

Hermione took a deep steadying breath before saying, "I love you, but I'm just not _in_ love with you anymore. You've given me our children, Ron, I could never say that I didn't love you at all. I just think that if we want to continue to have any form of healthy relationship, then we need to be apart. I can't keep conceding in every argument we have, and I can't keep dealing with you sulking around the house and not telling me why. We don't talk anymore, the communication has left our marriage. Without communication, we have nothing. We need to do this for ourselves. I know you don't want to be in a one-sided relationship."

"All I've ever wanted was to be with you, forever. That's what I vowed to do when we got married," he said slowly. "Please, don't do this."

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, standing up and looking down at him sadly. "I need to do this for me."

He didn't say anything. He just looked up at her with that desperation in his eyes, making her feel very sick all of a sudden.

"I'll come back tomorrow to move my stuff out," she said softly. "I'm sorry."

Ron remained silent, so she looked at Ginny, gesturing towards the front of the house with her head. The redhead nodded and stood up as well, following Hermione out of the house.

"Well, that went much better than I expected," Hermione said, sighing a sigh of relief. "I thought there'd be more yelling."

"There will be," Ginny said quietly, turning to look back at the front door with a sad expression on her face. "You caught him by surprise, so the only thing he could think to do was beg. He'll be ready to blow up on you tomorrow."

"I know," Hermione said, sighing again. "Well, what would you like to do now?"

Ginny shrugged and looked at her watch, "It's getting close to dinner time. Perhaps we should go back to the hotel."

Hermione nodded and stepped out onto the sidewalk to hail a taxi.

"Are you alright?" Ginny asked as one pulled up.

Hermione opened the door, letting Ginny climb in first before settling herself down and telling the cabbie where to go. "I'm fine," she said quietly. "I just didn't think he'd be so desperate."

"He loves you," Ginny said, shrugging slightly. "He always has, and I don't doubt that he always will. He's looked at your relationship in the same way my mother has."

"One big, happy Weasley family? They had that for fifteen years, and it was fifteen years too long," Hermione said bitterly, glaring out the window. "I will never understand the impulse to plan your children's lives out like your mother has done."

"Neither will I," Ginny said, sighing heavily. "We were happy, at one stage, though."

"I know. But that feels like it was a hundred years ago. I don't remember what it's like to wake up in the morning, happy to see someone sound asleep on the other side of the bed."

_That's a lie, you were incredibly happy to see Ginny sleeping next to you this morning_, her conscience said quickly, breaking through the barrier Hermione had thought she'd constructed in her mind. _Incredibly happy_.

Hermione bit down on her bottom lip as the images that were coursing through her mind that morning came back, making her stomach lurch as she saw them as clear as the light of day.

"That's why you've left him," Ginny said, breaking the images in her mind. She placed a hand on Hermione's knee, "He'll accept it at some point."

"Hopefully it won't take him years to do so."

Ginny shrugged, "Just give him a little time."

Hermione sighed heavily and swallowed, feeling that dry sensation in the back of her throat that meant tears would be on the way soon. "I didn't want any of this."

"You can't help the way you feel," Ginny said softly, sliding across the seat to put an arm around Hermione's shoulders. "And you didn't betray him like Harry did me, you have nothing to feel bad about."

"Apart from tearing the family apart," Hermione said, the first, of what she knew would be many, tears beginning to slide down her cheeks. "I have no idea what I'm going to tell Hugo and Rose."

"You're not alone there," Ginny said, sighing.

"This is my fault though. I wouldn't be surprised if Ron tries to turn them against me."

"I'll talk to him about that, if you'd like," Ginny said, squeezing her shoulder gently. "He has to see at some point that it really is better this way. He's free to go out and find someone who really loves him, and so are you. We all are."

Hermione sniffed and chewed down on her bottom lip in an attempt to stop the sobs that were threatening to escape her throat. She knew she should feel happy, that she was finally free, not to mention being in Ginny's arms at that moment. But she didn't. She suddenly felt as though she'd made a terrible mistake, that perhaps she could've stuck it out and worked things out with him. The tears began sliding down her cheeks in a torrent, and her body began to shudder with her silent sobs. She felt Ginny pull her closer and was glad of the support, turning her face to bury it in the redhead's shoulder.

They spent the rest of the trip to the hotel in silence, both women suddenly with the feeling that the next little while would be incredibly difficult for the two of them.

* * *

To be continued...


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

**A/N: I'm so sorry that this has taken such a long time to come to you guys. I had some serious writer's block during the holidays, and now that I'm back at uni, the inspiration has just struck. I have no idea when the next chapter will be coming to you guys, but I do hope that this chapter is amusing enough to keep you satisfied for a little while, at least. It becomes quite silly by the end, but I think after what's just happened, Hermione and Ginny need some silliness. In any case, I do hope you enjoy it. It has not been beta-ed, and I just wrote most of this chapter today and haven't been able to read through it properly to find mistakes, so I apologise if there are any. Please remember to review once you've finished reading!**

* * *

**Unfamiliar Spell**

"It's almost time for dinner."

Hermione sighed and looked over at Ginny, who was sitting at the table near the balcony, gazing out the window. Once they'd gotten to their room, they hadn't spoken, Hermione going to lie down on the bed, and Ginny sitting at the table. Both women had been thinking about their current situations, completely engrossed in the terrifying thoughts of telling their children what had happened to their marriages.

"What would you like?"

Ginny shrugged and turned her head to look back at Hermione's form. "I don't mind. Whatever you'd like."

Hermione nodded and sat up on the bed, reaching across to the bedside table to pick the room-service menu up.

"After we get our things from our houses tomorrow, we should start looking for another place to stay," Ginny said softly, standing up and crossing the room to sit on the edge of the bed, facing Hermione.

"I know," the brunette said, sighing as she flipped through the menu. "Muggle or magical?"

Ginny frowned, "What?"

"Would you like to stay in a muggle place, or try to find a magical one?"

"If we stayed in a muggle place you could indulge your muggle heritage," Ginny said, smiling slightly.

Hermione looked up at her and smiled as well, "Thank you for the consideration, but I'm not fussed either way. Ron and I lived without muggle appliances for fifteen years."

Ginny shrugged, "All the more reason to indulge now. You can teach me how to work that electricity stuff."

Hermione laughed softly, "Electricity stuff?"

Ginny grinned and shrugged again, "You can teach me the proper names for it too."

The brunette smiled at her and nodded, "Alright. We'll go looking tomorrow, then."

"Would we move right in?" Ginny asked, taking the menu from Hermione's hands and looking through it herself.

"No, we'd probably have to wait a month, or so, before we could move in."

"Then we'll go travelling for that month," Ginny said, looking up at her and grinning again.

"Ginny..."

"Hey, we talked about it today. Why not use that month to do what we talked about?"

Hermione sighed and leaned back against the headboard of the bed. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. We both need a holiday."

"We also need to talk to your mother before we go anywhere," Hermione pointed out. "And you need to tell the Harpies that you need some time off."

"I know," Ginny sighed, glaring down at the menu. "Alright, here's the plan."

"We need a plan?" Hermione asked, not bothering to hide the small smile on her face.

Ginny nodded, "Of course we do. We go and get our stuff tomorrow separately. Then we go looking for a new place to stay. Then we can go have dinner at my mother's house."

"What if Ron's already talked to your mother?" Hermione asked, suddenly feeling a wave of discomfort overtake her body.

"I doubt it, he's probably sitting at home, feeling sorry for himself."

Suddenly they heard a tapping on the door to the balcony. Hermione groaned as she looked up to see Mrs Weasley's owl clutching a sealed letter.

"At least it's not red," Ginny muttered, standing up to open the door and let the owl in. Taking the letter from it, she shooed it away back to its mistress, before going to sit back down on the bed. "It's from dad," she said in mild surprise as she opened it. "Apparently mum was so shocked by Ron's revelation that she's been in bed all afternoon." Ginny sighed, "He wants both of us to come to dinner tomorrow night."

"At least the plan isn't ruined," Hermione said, shrugging slightly.

Ginny smiled and looked up at her over the letter, "Dad says that mum doesn't want us to move our things out before she talks to us."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Too bad."

"He also says that he knows we'll ignore her instruction, but to please show up for dinner." Ginny sighed and set aside the letter, "So, I was wrong about Ron sitting at home, feeling sorry for himself."

"They had to find out at some point. I just wish we could've told them before he did."

"The worst is out of the way," Ginny said, shrugging. "Dad obviously understands, we just need to show up, listen to what mum has to say and then leave."

"I don't know if it'll be quite so simple as that," Hermione sighed heavily and slumped against the headboard.

"She can't change our minds," Ginny said, very firmly. "She has to accept it at some point."

"She'll be completely understanding about you," Hermione sighed again, glaring down at her hands. "I doubt she'll do the same for me."

"No, she'll ask me if I did everything that I possibly could to make it work. You know how she feels about Harry, he's been like a son to her ever since your first year."

"I know. But, like you said, there's nothing she can say to change what we're doing. Either way, the family stays pretty much together. You and I will live together and Harry and Ron will live on their own, until they find someone else."

"Now you're thinking logically," Ginny said, smiling at the older woman. "Come on, I'm hungry."

* * *

They spent that night in silence mostly, both women contemplating what was to come the following day. Hermione slept badly, waking up every two hours or so, sweating and panting, feeling a crushing, terrifying feeling for a moment until she turned her head to find Ginny sleeping peacefully next to her. She sighed in relief each time she saw the beautiful redhead, feeling safe once again. She didn't bother wondering why Ginny's presence calmed her down; after all, it was pretty obvious.

"I love you," she whispered to the Sleeping Beauty at one point, feeling tears come to her eyes. She closed them and settled back down on her back, trying not to cry so she didn't disturb Ginny's sleep.

She could hardly believe the situation she'd gotten herself into. Hell, she could hardly believe how much she had touched herself over the past couple of days, thinking about the sister of her soon-to-be ex-husband. It seemed ironic that she should marry one Weasley and fall for another.

No, it was sad, she thought to herself. Sad that she had lived a lie, simply to please others. It was getting harder and harder to remember the time where she'd been happy with Ron, and it was much easier to remember all of the times she'd been happy with Ginny. All of the coffee dates, watching her at Quidditch training, going to see the games, even when Ron didn't, and cheering as loudly as she could. When their children were born, they used to take them down to the park and sit and watch them play and just talk.

Hermione sighed again and opened her eyes, turning her head to gaze at Ginny. She looked so peaceful and content, that all she wanted to do was to roll over and cuddle into her side and kiss her gently. She wanted to be close with her, she wanted desperately to cross that line between friendship and romance and ignore the consequences.

But she didn't. In spite of everything, Hermione was a creature of logic and reasoning, and she knew that that would be illogical and very, very wrong. It was too soon to confess anything, if she was going to do that at all. She didn't want to scare away the last person who truly understood her.

She suddenly felt Ginny shift in the bed, moving over to snuggle into her side. Hermione couldn't help smiling as she snaked an arm around the redhead's shoulders and felt her settle happily.

"Did I wake you?" Ginny murmured, draping an arm across Hermione's stomach and holding her tightly.

"No, I've been awake for a little while," Hermione replied, ignoring the jump she felt in her belly as Ginny ran her fingers down her hip.

"Why?"

Hermione shrugged slightly, "You know. Everything's just a little overwhelming."

Ginny sighed and squeezed her, "I know."

"I'm glad you're here, though," Hermione murmured, turning her head to gaze down at the redhead.

Ginny smiled and leaned up to kiss her cheek gently, "I'm glad you're here. I don't think either of us would have done very well on our own."

Hermione bit her lip as she felt Ginny's slightly moist lips touch her cheek, and had to try very hard not to turn her head just a little more to touch her lips with hers.

"Do you think you can sleep?" Ginny asked, settling back down.

"I should try, at least," Hermione said, sighing slightly.

"Do you want me to move back to my side?"

"No," Hermione said immediately, biting down on her bottom lip again as she realised how quick her response was. "I mean, it's comforting to have you here."

Ginny smiled again and nodded, "Alright."

Hermione smiled back at her and leaned down to kiss her forehead gently, "Thank you."

"Whatever you need," Ginny said softly, gazing up at her. She smiled once more before letting her head rest on Hermione's shoulder and slipping her leg in between Hermione's.

Hermione sighed happily, pulling her close and revelling in the feel of her body on hers. Her free hand found its way down to Ginny's and she held it gently. Their fingers intertwined together, and the brunette finally felt relaxed, and as though she could sleep properly, at last.

* * *

When Hermione woke the next morning, it was to an empty bed. She frowned as she sat up slightly, looking around the room for Ginny. Her ears were met with the sound of the shower and she sighed in relief, settling back down onto the bed. A moment later, the shower was turned off, and she heard Ginny stepping out and drying herself off. Hermione rolled over and sat up on the edge of the bed, gazing out at the balcony. She stood up and crossed the room to the door, sliding it open and stepping outside, going to lean on the railing and gaze down at London.

She was only out there for a minute before she heard the door slide open behind her. She turned to find Ginny standing behind her in a little white towel. She almost let her mouth drop open as her eyes trailed up Ginny's long legs, to the hem of the towel that was only just covering her properly.

"Did you sleep alright?" Ginny asked, leaning against the door frame.

Hermione tore her eyes away from her legs and looked up at her face, nodding, "I slept fine."

Ginny smiled at her, "Good. You were muttering and moaning in your sleep a little bit, but apart from that you seemed quite peaceful."

Hermione immediately blushed and looked away from her, hoping against hope that she hadn't said Ginny's name.

The redhead giggled softly at the brunette, "Don't worry, considering the way you've been feeling lately, I'm not surprised that you had a dream like that."

"Did I... say anything?" Hermione mumbled, staring at the ground and feeling as though she could never face Ginny again.

"It was mostly unintelligible," Ginny said, smiling at her. "All I understood was 'Oh, God,' and 'Yes.'"

Hermione blushed a deeper shade of red and turned her back on Ginny, leaning down on the railing, "Oh, God."

"Exactly," Ginny said, smirking as she walked out onto the balcony to stand next to the brunette.

Hermione glared at her, "It's not funny, Gin."

"It's a little funny," Ginny said, still smirking at her. "I must say, Hermione, you do sound pretty fucking hot when you're dreaming about sex."

Hermione snorted softly, beginning to smile in spite of the embarrassment she was feeling, "Yeah, alright, Gin."

"Seriously, you almost made me need to go to the bathroom to... relieve myself."

Hermione turned her head to look at her and raised an eyebrow, "What?"

Ginny shrugged, "We _were_ snuggling at that stage, and you woke me with all the moving you were doing. Your hips do the most amazing thing..."

"Okay, stop it," Hermione said quickly, straightening back up, her cheeks beginning to burn with all the blushing she was doing.

Ginny raised an eyebrow, "It's nothing to be ashamed of, Hermione. We all have dreams like that."

Hermione sighed, "I'm sorry. I'm just a little on edge."

"I could tell, from last night," Ginny said, beginning to smirk again.

Hermione finally laughed, nudging her in the shoulder, "Oh, shut up."

The redhead giggled, "See? It's funny! Believe me, if I ever do that and you're lying next to me, I want you to tell me the next morning."

"I'll make sure I do that," Hermione said, nudging her again and smiling. "You should get dressed, and I need to shower."

"Am I too much for you, Ms Granger?" Ginny asked in a sultry, seductive voice, turning her body to face her, and her hands finding their way to where the towel was tucked in securely.

Hermione snorted and grabbed Ginny's hands before she let the towel fly open, "Yes, yes you are. Now, go change."

Ginny laughed and walked away from her, "Just imagine if that room-service guy could see us now, he'd be drooling all over us."

Hermione snorted again and followed her into the room, sliding the door shut behind her, "He'd be drooling all over you, Gin."

"Not if he could see this," Ginny said, suddenly tackling Hermione onto the bed as she was walking towards the bathroom.

Hermione landed on her back, Ginny on top of her, her leg pressed firmly between Hermione's, and the towel in serious danger of falling away from her body. Hermione bit down hard on her bottom lip and gazed up at Ginny, her stomach lurching as the redhead grasped her wrists and pinned them above her head.

"Gin, what on earth...?"

Suddenly the door opened, "Room Ser–!" a male voice called, stopping short as he saw the two women on the bed.

Hermione's eyes widened as she looked over at him, noticing it was the same one who'd brought their breakfast the morning before. She looked back up at Ginny, who was feigning embarrassment, immediately standing up off of the brunette and rushing into the bathroom. Hermione couldn't help smiling slightly as she sat up on the bed and looked over at the door she slammed behind her.

"I'm sorry about that," she said, standing up and smiling at the man.

"No, I'm sorry, the person who called up for breakfast told me to just walk in," he said quickly, staring down at the ground.

"It's no problem," Hermione said, glancing at the bathroom door as she stood up and crossed the room to the trolley which had their food on it. "She probably forgot. She gets quite taken away by the moment, sometimes," she said, smirking slightly as she noticed that the man hadn't moved from his position behind the trolley. "I'll just grab these, then," she said, taking the tray from the trolley.

"Thank you," he said quickly, backing out of the room and closing the door before Hermione had the time to find her purse and give him a tip.

Hermione laughed softly and placed the tray down on the table before walking to the bathroom door and knocking on it insistently.

Ginny opened it and peeked out at her, with some sort of fake-embarrassed look on her face. "Is he gone?"

"You planned that, didn't you?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at her sternly.

Ginny grinned apologetically, "Maybe."

The stern look on Hermione's face disappeared as she began to laugh. Ginny started laughing too, and before long both women were in stitches, laughing so hard that Hermione slid down the door frame to sit on the ground, holding her head in her hands as she laughed and laughed.

"Oh, God," Hermione murmured through her giggles, looking sideways at the redhead who was now sitting too, her body facing away from the brunette so she didn't flash her unexpectedly.

"Exactly," Ginny said, smirking and winking at her.

Hermione laughed again, "How long have you been planning that?"

"Since he brought us breakfast yesterday," she said, smiling happily.

"He didn't even wait for a tip," Hermione said, smiling as well.

"I think he's had enough, for one day."

Hermione snorted, "After that display, I'm sure he's had enough for the week. I was wondering why you were on top of me."

"Clearly because I can't keep my hands off you," Ginny said, smirking again. "Your attractiveness is just so dazzling, Hermione."

Hermione shrugged and grinned, "I know."

Ginny laughed, "Of course you do."

"Well, now that you've had your exhibitionist needs satisfied, I think you should dress and we should eat," Hermione said, standing up and holding out a hand for Ginny.

The redhead took it and stood up, holding onto the towel, still grinning widely.

"Does that mean you were lying about me having a sex dream last night?" Hermione asked, crossing the room to the table and sitting down.

Ginny laughed softly as she grabbed some fresh clothing and underwear, "Of course not. And I was entirely honest when I said you were pretty fucking hot."

With that, the redhead turned to go change in the bathroom, leaving Hermione wondering what exactly she had been feeling that night.

* * *

To be continued...


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

**A/N: Okay, ladies and gentlemen... here is a very long chapter of Unfamiliar Spell for you, to make up for the lack of updates lately. Just to warn you, there's something a little confronting in this chapter, and I hope that you won't hate me for it... This is just where the words took me. It's quite a serious chapter (though, there is a bit of humour mixed in there somewhere), but fear not! For the general hilarity and flirtiness that is Unfamiliar Spell shall return next chapter, if all goes according to plan.**

**I have to thank poofyface for giving me my 200th review on this story :) and everyone else who reviewed last chapter, I really appreciate them. Please remember to review this chapter to let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Unfamiliar Spell**

"Are you sure that you want to do this alone?"

"I'm sure," Ginny said quietly, gazing up at hers and Harry's house. She smiled as she looked back at Hermione, "He won't do anything. I'll meet you at that coffee shop next to the bookstore you love so much."

Hermione smiled back at her and nodded, "Alright. I'll see you soon, then."

Ginny opened the door of the cab and climbed out, walking up the steps to the front door. Hermione sighed as she watched her unlock the door and walk into the house, and sat back in her seat.

* * *

When Hermione arrived at her house, it seemed at first that no one was there. Breathing a small sigh of relief, she began to gather her things together, starting with her books in the study. Glancing around the room at one stage, she couldn't help noticing that most of the books in the place were hers. She stacked them on the ground in order of genre first, and then the author's surname, before withdrawing her wand and summoning some suitcases from the attic. Almost as soon as she'd put her wand away, she heard Ron exclaim,

"What the hell?"

She grit her teeth as the suitcases made their way into the study, standing up and waiting for the inevitable blow-up. He appeared in the doorway with a red face, his hand clamped around his shoulder, and glaring at his wife,

"Why'd you do that?" he snapped at her.

"I didn't know you were here," she said calmly, withdrawing her wand once more to transfer her books into the waiting suitcases. "I'm sorry, I just didn't feel like going up into the attic to get these myself."

"What are you doing?" he asked, glaring at her as he rubbed his shoulder tenderly.

"You know what I'm doing," Hermione said wearily, waving her wand at the books and watching them organise themselves into the suitcases. "I'm moving out."

"But you weren't supposed to do that until you talked to mum and dad tonight."

Hermione shot a glare at him, "I'm not waiting to get permission from _your_ parents to move _my_ stuff out. There is nothing you or your mother can say to change my mind."

"So you're just going to disobey my parents and do whatever you want?"

"Ron, there are two very important points that I would like to make in regards to your parents," Hermione said, taking a step closer to him and narrowing her eyes at him. "Number one; I am not a child. Number two; they are not _my_ parents. My parents died a long time ago."

Ron bit his lip as he took a step back from her, "That doesn't mean that you can just walk out of this marriage without giving us a fair shot."

"You had fifteen years to convince me otherwise, Ron," she said, turning her back on him and waving her wand at the suitcases, shrinking them down so that they would fit in her pocket. She turned back to face him, "And I've been trying my hardest over the past year or so to find a way to make this work for myself. It's not going to happen. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other things to pack."

"What if I don't let you?" he asked, crossing his arms and standing in the doorway.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, "Ron, I'm a witch. There are plenty of ways I can out of this room." He stayed where he was, scowling at her. She sighed heavily, "Please? This will all go much more smoothly if you just let me do what I need to do."

"I don't want you to go," he said very slowly and clearly, emphasizing each word as though he was talking to a child.

"Too bad," Hermione replied, glaring at him and disapparating to their bedroom.

She quickly set about summoning her clothing and shoes from the closets, and pulling a large suitcase from beneath the bed. She waved her wand again and sent the clothing into the suitcase, before waving her wand at the dresser, sending her underwear to the suitcase too.

"You can't do this," Ron said suddenly, walking into the room and closing the door behind him. "You can't just leave me without a proper explanation."

"I've already told you why I'm doing this," Hermione snapped at him, walking into their bathroom to retrieve all her toiletries. "I'm not happy," she said, returning from the bathroom with her arms full of her things. She dropped them all into the open suitcase and closed it, shrinking it down too and placing it in her pocket.

"That's not a damn explanation," Ron said, walking to her and gripping her shoulders roughly. "Just tell me what I can do to stop this!"

"There's nothing you can do," Hermione said, pushing his hands off her, her eyes flashing with anger. "Don't touch me."

"I deserve a fucking explanation, Hermione!" he snapped, his hands bundling themselves into fists and his face going a deep purple. "I've been a good husband, I've worked and taken care of you! We were _supposed_ to be together!"

"No, we weren't," Hermione replied, glaring daggers at him. "You and I don't work, Ron, we never really did."

"We were just fine..."

"No, we weren't," Hermione repeated, cutting him off. "I'm sick and tired of fighting with you, sick of you being grumpy and not talking to me about anything. I'm sick of living my life for other people."

"I'm not just some other person. The kids aren't just random people that you don't care about..."

"Do you really think that I _want_ to do this to them?" Hermione asked, her voice raising in volume as she felt the anger bubbling up inside her chest. "I _never_ wanted them to have to deal with a divorce, that's why I waited so fucking long to tell you what was going on. What the hell makes you think that this is so fucking easy for me to do to them?"

"You're doing it, aren't you?" he asked, turning away from her to gaze around at the recently ransacked room. "You removed all of your things in less than half an hour. How easy is it to do that?"

"There's no talking to you," Hermione muttered, pushing past him to the bedroom door.

"What, are you going to take the kids' stuff too now?"

Hermione turned to face Ron, only just restraining herself from withdrawing her wand, "Why? Do you want to start some sort of ridiculous custody battle?"

"Maybe we should," he retorted. "I don't think my children should be living with a lying bitch."

"And I don't want my children living with a self-absorbed arsehole who's never cooked a day in his life," Hermione said, taking a step towards him. "I worked day and night when the kids were here to make sure they had a comfortable life. I gave up the possibility of a career in whatever the _hell_ I wanted to raise our children. Don't you dare think for a second that you can stop me from claiming my parental rights."

Ron scowled at her and crossed his arms, "And I worked for fifteen years to make sure that they didn't have to grow up like I did."

"That's exactly why I would never dream of asking you to give them up," Hermione snapped at him. "I know what you did for us, and I would never say that I was ungrateful for that. But the fact remains that I am not happy, and there is absolutely nothing that you can do or say to change that."

He didn't respond, now glaring down at the carpet.

She sighed heavily, "For the record, I'm not taking the kids' things. They'll probably want to stay here when they come home for the summer holidays."

Silence.

"I'm done, then," she said softly, turning away from him and walking to the bedroom door.

"Wait," he said, crossing the room quickly.

She turned to look up at him, "What?"

He leaned down and kissed her roughly, pushing her up against the door, taking her wrists and pinning them above her head.

Hermione made a disgruntled grunt and tried to push him off her, struggling against his iron grip on her wrists, and his mouth on top of hers. Ron ignored her frustration and anger, pushing her wrists harder into the door, and trying vainly to work her mouth open with his.

She tried to yell out, but it was muffled by his lips, his disgustingly wet and sloppy mouth, drooling all over hers as he continued to try to kiss her. Hermione felt genuinely scared, almost paralysed by fear as her husband's grip hardened even more on her wrists, which she knew would end up bruised later. She wanted to disapparate, but his grip on her was too tight. She wanted to hex him into oblivion, but her wand was in her pocket, and she knew she'd never get to it.

He pushed his hips against hers, and she could feel the swelling in his trousers, feeling more terrified all of a sudden, if that was possible. She did, however, have the presence of mind to remember what she'd been taught in a muggle self-defence class she'd taken with her mother.

"_Just remember the five points of contact that'll send any assailant to the ground, crying like a little girl," the tough former-officer had told them. "Eyes, nose, throat, groin, foot."_

Since her hands were occupied, the first three were out of the question. But the last two... if he would just move back slightly, she'd have room to slam her knee into his crotch and then stamp down on his toes. Hermione opened her eyes to look up at him, finding his eyes squeezed tight in concentration. She suddenly bit down, hard, on his lips, causing him to shriek and loosen his grip on her wrists, stumbling backwards slightly. Without wasting another second, she grabbed his shoulders and slammed her knee into his crotch, making sure she stamped down hard on his foot as well.

Ron slumped down on the ground, holding his crotch and whimpering, curling up into the foetal position.

Hermione gazed down at him for a moment, hardly believing what had just happened. She glanced at the mirror across the room, seeing her swollen lips and messy hair. She looked down at her wrists to find angry purple bruises beginning to form.

Not wanting to stay there a moment longer, she disapparated, leaving Ron crying in their bedroom.

* * *

When Ginny finally arrived at the coffee shop, Hermione had been waiting there for half an hour. She'd already downed two cappuccinos and was onto her third when the redheaded beauty sat down opposite her with an exhausted look on her face.

"Well, that was fun," she said sarcastically, glancing around the room.

Hermione nodded and stared down at her cup of coffee, taking slight note of how dark her bruises now looked.

Ginny looked back at her and frowned, "What's wrong?"

Hermione didn't respond, taking a sip of her coffee. As she glanced at Ginny over the top of her cup, she saw the redhead's eyes widen as she noticed the purple bruises on her wrists.

"What the hell happened?" Ginny asked as she took Hermione's hands in hers, after she'd placed the cup down, inspecting her wrists closely.

"Ron," Hermione said softly, watching in quiet appreciation as Ginny ran her fingers gently across her wrists.

"I'm going to kill him," Ginny said darkly, looking up at Hermione with a scowl set firmly in place, her cheeks going slightly red. "What did he do?"

"He tried to kiss me," Hermione replied, sighing heavily. "He pushed me up against the door and held my wrists above my head."

"He didn't..."

"No," Hermione said immediately, cringing slightly. "No, he didn't get that far. I bit him and then kneed him in between his legs. He fell away from me and I disapparated."

"I'm going to kill him," Ginny repeated, the blush in her cheeks spreading to the rest of her face. "What the hell was he thinking?"

"I think he was trying to change my mind," Hermione said quietly, noticing suddenly that Ginny hadn't let go of her hands. "He never noticed how rough he was with me when we were still having sex, he just went back to old habits."

"That's not a fucking excuse," Ginny growled at her. "He shouldn't have touched you at all. When I get my hands on him..."

"Gin, I'm okay," Hermione said, squeezing her hands. "I promise, I'm fine. It was just a bit of a shock."

"I still want to kill him," Ginny grumbled, gazing down at her wrists.

"I know, I want to kill him too. But I know why he did what he did, he just made a stupid, rash decision, like he usually does."

Ginny sighed and sat back in her chair, letting go of Hermione's hands. "Were you scared?"

Hermione nodded and gazed down at her cup of coffee again, "Of course I was. He had me up against the door and I couldn't move." She looked back up at Ginny, unable to hide the tears that were beginning to slide down her cheeks, "He shoved his hips against me and I could feel... _it_, and all I could think of was how to get out of there."

Ginny growled softly and sat upright, leaning in to take her hands in hers again. "I'm so sorry..."

"Don't be," Hermione cut across her, sniffing slightly. "You didn't choose to be related to the idiot."

The scowl on Ginny's face faded as she smiled at the older woman sadly, "If I can do anything for you, just tell me."

"I need you to back me up when we go to see your parents," Hermione said softly, gazing unblinkingly at her. "After this morning..."

"I know," Ginny replied, nodding.

"I don't want to tell your mother what he did either."

Ginny frowned, "Why?"

Hermione sighed slightly, "It's enough that she has to deal with two divorces at the moment. I don't want her to have to hear about her son trying to force himself on me."

"But this would mean she'd never question why you're leaving."

"I'm not leaving because he's a violent husband, Gin. I'm leaving because I'm not happy. That's all she needs to know. I don't want to give her a heart attack."

Ginny let go of Hermione's hands and shifted her chair around the table to wrap her arms around her, holding her tightly. "You're too good for my family," she murmured to her ear, before pulling back and taking hold of her hands again and smiling a small smile at her.

Hermione smiled weakly back at her, and squeezed her hands. "Do you want some coffee?"

Ginny nodded, "Most definitely, after all of that."

"Here," Hermione said, reaching for her purse and withdrawing some muggle money from it, "go buy yourself a mocha."

"What's that?"

"You'll like it, trust me," Hermione said, smiling at the redhead as she watched the slight look of confusion on her face dissipate into one of curiosity.

"If you say so," she said, winking at Hermione as she stood up to order her coffee.

Hermione watched her walk over to the cash register, unable to stop her eyes from sliding further south to admire her arse. She sighed softly and took another sip of her drink. Now wasn't the time to be lusting after Ginny, not after what had just happened.

_You saw the way she reacted, why not now? Why feel anything other than appreciation for her? She's the only one you can rely on right now._

'_That's why I shouldn't be staring at her butt,'_ Hermione thought, beginning to feel irritated with herself. _'If she's the only one I can rely on, why jeopardize that with lusty looks?'_

_Come on, don't you remember the way she was acting this morning?_

'_That was all a damn act.'_

_She was wearing nothing underneath that towel, and she tackled you down onto that bed. Not to mention how she almost flashed you out on the balcony._

"I'm not having this damn conversation," Hermione muttered, glaring down at the table in front of her.

"What conversation?" Ginny asked, sitting down next to her with her mocha in hand.

"Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself," Hermione said, fidgeting slightly with the hem of her shirt.

Ginny raised an eyebrow at her, "Alright, then. Are we still going to go looking for a place to live today?"

Hermione nodded, "Yes, we need to find something as soon as possible."

"Because then we can go on our trip," Ginny said, grinning widely as she sipped her coffee. A surprised look spread across her face as she looked down at the drink, "Is that chocolate?"

Hermione laughed softly, "It's basically chocolate coffee."

"It seems that I can trust you, Ms Granger," Ginny said, smirking at her as she took another sip. "Are we still going to look for muggle places?"

"If you really want to," Hermione shrugged. "We'll have to go to a real estate office, and you can't say or do anything weird with them."

"What would I say?"

"Well, it's not so much what you would say, it's more what you would stare at," Hermione said, smiling a half smile at her. "Don't stare in confusion at the telephones or the computers."

Ginny snorted, "I won't do that."

"Do you know what a telephone or a computer is?"

"I know what a telephone is," Ginny retorted, defiantly.

Hermione smiled, "Alright."

* * *

The pair of them spent the rest of their day speaking with various real estate agents, who all seemed excited for new clients who wanted to seal the deal quickly. By late afternoon, they'd arranged for a few open houses the following day in places relatively close to the Wizarding section of London.

"I can't wait for tomorrow," Ginny said, almost bouncing down the street as they walked away from the last real estate office they'd been to.

Hermione laughed softly, "It'll be good if we can find something tomorrow."

"Where do you want to stay tonight though?" Ginny asked, stopping her bouncing and looking at Hermione seriously.

"I don't know," Hermione said thoughtfully, frowning slightly. "I hadn't thought about that."

"We could stay at my parents house..."

"No," Hermione said immediately, shaking her head.

Ginny sighed, "Hermione, dad'll probably offer. And it means you don't have to spend any more money for us tonight."

"I told you before, I'm not worried about the money. I don't want to impose on your parents."

Ginny smiled at Hermione, "They'll jump at the opportunity to have someone in the house again."

"What about your mum? Won't she be holding some sort of grudge against me?"

"I'll make sure that she doesn't make life hard for you," Ginny said seriously, taking Hermione's hand and squeezing it gently. "Besides, we won't be there for long. If we manage to find a place tomorrow, we can be off on our trip the following day."

"We still need to plan that," Hermione pointed out. "Where do you want to go?"

"Well, Athens is a must," Ginny said, grinning happily at her. "But I think that should be one of the last places we visit. France, Spain and Italy are also a must."

"Why?"

"You speak the languages," Ginny said, winking at her. "I'm thinking Paris for a week, Barcelona for a week, and Venice and Rome for a week. Then we can spend the last week in Athens. And I don't want to bother with any of the Wizarding sights, just the muggle ones."

Hermione grinned, "You do realise that they sometimes intertwine together, right?"

Ginny shrugged, "Well, let's just focus on the muggle aspects."

"Why?"

Ginny shrugged again, "I just want to go to places where we won't be recognised as a Quidditch player and the smartest witch ever to grace Hogwarts with her presence."

Hermione laughed softly, "Ah, I see. You don't want gawky fan-girls following you all over Europe, huh?"

"Pretty much," Ginny replied, winking at her.

"I suppose we don't need to plan it all out," Hermione said, smiling at her. "Are you sure that that's all you want to do?"

"We'll have plenty of time to do whatever else we want to do after I retire," Ginny replied, shrugging. "I suppose I'll need to find some sort of job, but I don't need to think about that right now."

"Fair enough." They continued walking down the street in silence for a minute, before Hermione finally asked the question she'd been wanting to ask since they left the coffee shop, "So, what happened at your house?"

Ginny sighed slightly, "He was there. We got into another argument as I was packing up my clothes."

"Don't tell me he tried to justify the affair."

Ginny smiled grimly, "Of course he did. He said yesterday that he was sorry and that he didn't mean to hurt me, but I honestly don't think he cares. It almost scares me, how much he's changed since school. The old Harry would never have thought that cheating was a justifiable option."

"At least you don't have to deal with it anymore."

Ginny nodded, "There's that. I still can't help but feel like I've wasted a whole chunk of my life staying with him."

"You and me both," Hermione said, sighing heavily. "I'd forgotten what it felt like to not know what was going to happen tomorrow."

"The last time it felt like that was during the war," Ginny said, sighing too. "Since then, we've had our lives planned out."

"And now there seems to be an endless world of possibilities," Hermione said, smiling at the younger woman. "We can do whatever we want."

Ginny smiled back at Hermione and slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her close and squeezing her gently, "Yes, we can. Come on, we need to find somewhere to disapparate to my parents' house."

* * *

"It'll be fine," Hermione muttered to herself as she and Ginny walked up towards The Burrow.

"It will be," Ginny said reassuringly, taking her hand in hers and squeezing it.

"I'm just sick of the conflict," Hermione said, sighing as she noticed that Ginny's father had opened the front door and was coming out to greet them.

"Hi girls," he said, giving them a small wave.

"Hi dad," Ginny said, smiling at him as she walked up to hug him.

"Are you alright?" he asked her softly, pulling back to look down at her with concern written all over his face.

Ginny nodded, "I'm fine."

"And you, Hermione? Are you alright?" he asked, releasing Ginny from the hug and moving to Hermione to hug her as well.

"I'm okay," Hermione said, slightly surprised at the warmth with which she was greeted. She hugged him back, feeling a lot better about what would happen that night. "You're not angry at me?"

Arthur Weasley smiled down at her as he stepped back from her, "Frankly, Hermione, I'm not surprised. It is a little disappointing that your marriages are ending, but I'm not one to judge you for it."

"Oh. Well, thank you," Hermione said meekly, looking down at her feet and suddenly not knowing what to do or say.

"How's mum?" Ginny asked.

"Oh, you know your mother," Mr Weasley said, sighing heavily. "Very dramatic and worried that her grandchildren won't have a place to stay. I caught her cleaning out your old rooms today in the hopes that they'd come stay with us."

Ginny rolled her eyes, "We're not homeless dad, and Harry and Ron still have both their houses. In fact, we went looking today for a new place to live, together."

"I know that. Your mother, on the other hand, doesn't think about things like that."

"I suppose she thinks that children need a loving family who stays together," Hermione said softly, looking up at the house with a worried look on her face.

"They're not children anymore," Mr Weasley said softly, placing a hand on Hermione's shoulder and squeezing it. "They haven't been children since they've gone to Hogwarts. It's what the place does, turns you into independent members of society. She just needs a little time to accept what's happened."

"But we still have to explain ourselves," Ginny said, looking slightly disgruntled.

"If it gets out of hand, I'll stop her from asking anymore questions. But we would both like to know what's been going on lately."

Hermione took a deep breath and nodded, letting it out slowly, "Alright. Let's go in, then."

The three of them made their way up to the front door. As they walked into the house, they were greeted by the smell of Mrs Weasley's cooking.

'_At least I'll get to enjoy some of her food,'_ Hermione thought to herself.

"Molly, they're here," Mr Weasley said as he walked into the kitchen ahead of the girls.

"Oh, good," she said, wiping her hands on her apron and turning to greet them.

"Hi mum," Ginny said, lingering at the door to the kitchen.

"Hi Molly," Hermione said, glad that Ginny was hanging back with her.

"First thing's first," Mrs Weasley said, taking her apron off and hanging up on a hook on the wall. "Before we eat, you two are going to tell me what you were thinking, leaving your husbands' like that."

Ginny scowled at her mother and opened her mouth to say something before her father cut across her, "Molly, we talked about this."

"Divorce is not something to take lightly," Molly snapped at him. "We'll go sit in the living room while we talk." She left the room, followed obediently by her husband.

"She cuts right to the chase," Hermione muttered to Ginny.

"I feel like hexing her lips so she can't speak," Ginny muttered back, following Hermione into the living room. Hermione couldn't help giggling softly, stopping in her tracks to look back at Ginny. Ginny grinned slightly and winked at her, "That's always an option."

"Girls?"

"Christ," Ginny muttered.

"Come on," Hermione said, taking her hand and leading her into the living room. The pair of them sat down on the couch opposite Mr and Mrs Weasley, and Hermione was suddenly reminded of the time when she and Ginny had been caught by Professor McGonagall in the middle of the night, sneaking down to the kitchens for some snacks.

"_What do you have to say for yourself, Miss Weasley?"_

_Ginny shrugged and shot a sideways look at Hermione, "We were hungry?" She winked at the brunette who began biting down on her bottom lip in an attempt to stop herself from giggling._

"_And you, Miss Granger? I'd hardly expect _you_, of all people, to be sneaking around the castle in the middle of the night."_

Hermione smiled at the memory, which resulted in her first, and only, detention at Hogwarts.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourselves?"

Hermione focused her eyes down on her lap, trying very hard not to giggle at the question her mother-in-law had just asked.

"We aren't happy," Ginny said simply, shrugging slightly.

"Happiness isn't everything, Ginny," Mrs Weasley said sternly. "Marriages are hard work, and if you don't put the effort in, they fall apart."

"We were the ones putting the damn effort in," Ginny said, glaring at her mother. "Ron treated Hermione like shit, and Harry's having an affair!"

"Don't use that sort of language with me, young lady," Mrs Weasley snapped, her cheeks going slightly red. "And you shouldn't speak for Hermione, I'll get to her in a minute."

Ginny scowled and slumped back in the couch, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Leaving Harry is not the answer, Ginny," she said, leaning forward to look at her intently. "You both need to talk about this, and he needs to promise to stop seeing this other woman."

"Mum, has dad ever cheated on you?" Ginny asked suddenly.

Mrs Weasley looked slightly taken aback by the question, looking at her husband in surprise. "No, why would you ask that?"

"Because you clearly don't understand that even if Harry did stop seeing this woman, I can never trust him again. Maybe if you had some actual first-hand experience with this sort of thing, rather than hearing about it from your _friends_," Ginny snarled, "you'd realise that there is absolutely no way that I can forgive him and stay with him."

Silence descended upon the room as Ginny and Mrs Weasley glared at each other.

"You don't understand how much it hurts that the person, who I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with, did this. I never wanted a divorce before now, I wanted to try to work it out with him. But cheating is the bottom line for me. I'm sorry, mum, but there's nothing you can say to change my mind."

"Divorce is never the answer," Mrs Weasley said firmly, seeming to either not hear or understand what Ginny had just said.

"Molly, she's explained herself well enough," Mr Weasley said softly, nudging his wife. "She's right, cheating is unforgivable."

"Well, what are the children going to do, then? They need a loving support system at home..."

"Mum, they're gone for most of the year at school, and even when they are back in London, it's for three months at the very most."

"The summer holidays are only a couple of months away, and you two don't have anywhere to stay yet. Where are the children going to go?"

"Home," Ginny said, scowling at her mother. "If Hermione and I still don't have a place to stay when they come back, they'll just go home to their fathers' houses. Even if we do manage to find somewhere, they'll probably want to spend most of their time in the homes they grew up in. We both know that."

"So you're going to abandon your children?" Mrs Weasley asked, her voice rising in volume at the mere thought.

"Merlin, we're not abandoning our children!" Ginny exclaimed, sitting back up properly, her hands balling into fists. "I'm just being honest with you, mum. Why can't you just appreciate that and accept what I'm saying?"

"You didn't bother coming over to tell us after you spoke to Harry and Ron," Mrs Weasley retorted. "Why should I appreciate your honesty when you didn't even bother to floo over here to tell us what happened?"

"I was distraught after I spoke to Harry, and so was Hermione. We didn't _bother_ because we knew that you'd try to justify what Harry had done, and try to change Hermione's mind about Ron!"

Silence again, in which Hermione shifted uncomfortably, keeping her eyes glued to her lap.

"We're not getting anywhere, Molly," Mr Weasley said, sighing slightly and taking his wife's hand in his. "You've asked Ginny enough questions, and she's answered each one appropriately, albeit slightly rudely."

"Fine," Mrs Weasley snapped, switching her eyes from Ginny to Hermione. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Nothing, other than the fact that I'm sick of living my life based on someone else's desires," Hermione said, very quietly and calmly, raising her head to look at her mother-in-law.

"Divorce is not something to take lightly," Mrs Weasley repeated, frowning at her. "I would never have thought that you would do something like this, Hermione. You were always so smart, I thought you had some integrity."

Hermione flinched inwardly at the thinly veiled insult, trying desperately not to lose her temper. "If this was something that I was doing because I just woke up one day and felt like it, then I would agree with you. But I've been so unhappy for such a long time now that I need time away from Ron to figure out what I'm doing with my life."

"Why does that have to be away from Ron?"

Hermione sighed heavily, "All we do is argue, and when we're not arguing, we don't bother speaking. I thought when I married him that the arguing would eventually fade out of our relationship. But he hasn't changed. I'm sick of dealing with him."

"That's no reason to..."

"Molly, we aren't compatible," Hermione snapped, beginning to feel incredibly angry with the short-sightedness that seemed to run in the Weasley family. "The only thing that I hope is that my relationship with your son hasn't been detrimental to the lives of my children. The only way that it would stop being detrimental is to leave the marriage and the relationship."

"That's not the only..."

"Yes, it is," Hermione cut across her, sitting up slightly. "You're right, I am smart. I've spent the last year or more trying to think about how best to remedy the situation, how I could possibly make it all work again so I could stay with him. But that's completely out of the question now. Your son..." Hermione trailed off, suddenly remembering that she didn't want Mrs Weasley to know what had happened that afternoon.

"My son what?" Mrs Weasley asked, glaring at Hermione. "You came prepared with that speech, and you don't bother to finish it?"

Hermione looked at Ginny, glancing down at her covered wrists and then looked back up at her eyes, silently pleading her to step in.

"She doesn't want to upset you," Ginny said softly, not looking away from Hermione's eyes as she spoke. She reached across to touch Hermione's hands, pulling them closer to herself. "But I think that this is the only way to convince you that there's no other option, in this case."

"No," Hermione said, trying to take her hands from Ginny.

"What did Ron do?" Mr Weasley said, frowning as he leaned forward in his chair.

Hermione remained silent, feeling incredibly angry with herself that she'd allowed her mouth to run itself off without thinking about what she was saying. Tears were forming at the corners of her eyes, serving only to frustrate her even more, making her bite down on her bottom lip in an attempt to make them go away.

"Hermione," Ginny said softly, shifting a little closer to her and holding her hands tightly. "It's alright, they can deal with this."

Hermione sniffed slightly and nodded, her tears beginning to slide down her cheeks slowly as Ginny gently slid the sleeves of her cardigan up to her elbow. She heard Molly gasp in surprise, and heard Arthur make some sort of strange growling noise.

"I'm sorry," Hermione sniffed, raising her hands to her eyes to try to stem the flow of tears. "I didn't want to tell you because this isn't why I decided to leave Ron in the first place." She paused, taking a deep breath, before continuing, "And even after we left from seeing him yesterday, I had thought that maybe there was a chance I'd made a mistake. But then he..." Hermione burst into tears, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees as she held her head in her hands.

She felt Ginny put her arm around her, rubbing her back gently in small circles, making small hushing sounds. She leaned into the redhead, resting her head on her shoulder as she tried to calm herself down, which was helped immensely by Ginny just being there.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," Mr Weasley said in a low voice, watching her sadly. "We don't need to know anything else."

Mrs Weasley almost looked as though she was about to say something, but seemed to think better of it, simply nodding in agreement with her husband.

"Just to be clear," Hermione said, still sniffing slightly as she sat back up straight, wiping her tears away, "he didn't... _do_ anything to me. But he did scare me..."

"We understand," Mr Weasley cut across her. "You don't need to explain anything, alright?"

Hermione sniffed and nodded, relaxing back into the couch, still with Ginny's arm around her.

"I think I'm going to go check on dinner," Mrs Weasley said quietly, looking as though she'd just been hit with a Confundus Charm. "Arthur?"

Mr Weasley stood up and helped his wife up, following her to the kitchen with a concerned look on his face.

"I shouldn't have shown them," Hermione groaned, throwing her head back against the couch and glaring up at the ceiling.

"It made them stop asking stupid questions," Ginny said softly, pulling Hermione close so that her head was resting on her shoulder again. "They needed to know, Hermione."

Hermione turned her face to look up at Ginny's, "You saw the way your mother looked, I don't want..."

"She'll be fine," Ginny said reassuringly, moving her free hand up to cup Hermione's cheek gently, leaning forward to rest her forehead on hers gently, maintaining eye-contact. "I don't want you to feel responsible for any of this, okay?"

Hermione bit down on her bottom lip, gazing deep into Ginny's eyes. There was a mere inch, perhaps less, of space separating their lips from one another. If she would just move closer, just a tiny little bit closer...

"Girls, dinner's ready!" Mr Weasley called from the kitchen.

Ginny didn't move from her position for a moment, with that strange look in her eyes again, the one that looked as though she was contemplating something very important.

Hermione frowned slightly up at her, "He said dinner's ready."

Ginny sighed heavily and moved back from her, taking her hand from her cheek, and slumped into the couch again. "I know."

Hermione smiled through the remainder of her tears at Ginny, standing up and taking her hand, dragging her to her feet. "Thank you," she said softly once Ginny was standing with her, leaning in to kiss her cheek gently.

Ginny smiled back at her, pulling her close to hug her tightly. "I told you it would be alright," she murmured to her ear.

Hermione laughed softly, wrapping her arms around the redhead, enjoying the closeness that Ginny seemed to want at that moment. "Come on, we should go to dinner," she said, pulling back reluctantly from the hug.

"Alright," Ginny sighed, following Hermione into the kitchen.

* * *

To be continued...


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

**A/N: Firstly, this chapter is dedicated to the lovely and amazing Kiwipit, who has been helping me with figuring out where this story is going for a while now... I really should have done this before now, but oh well... I just hope she knows how much I appreciate her help :) thank you, gorgeous ;)**

**Secondly... there's been something that's come to my attention recently. I receive emails from AllOut dot org, and the one I received a few days ago was to do with equality in Brazil. If you go to the website it shouldn't be too hard to find the petition, but they talk about a group called "Equality Moms," who are going to Congress on the 29th of September to demand support for an anti-homophobia bill that would protect all Brazilians from discrimination. After having read some of the horror stories, I thought I should share this with you all. I know I have readers from Brazil... according to my stats, I have around 50 reading this story, and I'm assuming that not all of you are straight. I suppose the message I want to convey here is that you've got support. It doesn't matter if you're gay, straight, bisexual or transgender... this kind of discrimination effects all of us, and it makes me sick to think that there could be someone just like me being killed or beaten up just for expressing who they really are. Please guys, sign the petition. Every signature helps.**

**I'm sorry that this chapter is a little shorter, I decided to post it as it is because of what I found out. But, without further ado... here is chapter 12 of Unfamiliar Spell :) I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

**Unfamiliar Spell**

Surprisingly enough, dinner that night was free from awkward silences and shouting. Hermione's revelation seemed to have the desired effect on Mrs Weasley's opinions about divorce, and both Ginny and Hermione didn't hear another peep out of her about the issue. The conversation was mainly focused on how their children were doing at school, and Ginny's upcoming final season of Quidditch.

After dinner, Hermione and Ginny helped Mr Weasley clean up, while Mrs Weasley made her way up to bed.

"I hope I didn't upset her too much," Hermione said, glancing at the stairs leading up to the second floor as she waved her wand at the dishes in the sink.

"You're not the one who's upset her," Mr Weasley said, sighing slightly. "Believe me, Ron will be receiving a Howler tomorrow. She does love you, Hermione, like a second daughter. The only reason she was so worried about the divorce was that she didn't want to lose you. After the war... well, she doesn't want to lose any more children."

"I'm not going anywhere," Hermione said, sending the dishes towards Ginny, who was drying. "I just need to get out of the marriage, it doesn't mean that I'm going to cut you out of my life."

"I know," Mr Weasley said, smiling at her. "Molly just jumps to conclusions sometimes."

Hermione smiled back at him and pocketed her wand, having finished washing up. "I think I might go for a walk before bed."

"Want me to come?" Ginny asked, finishing up the last of the drying.

"Sure, if you want."

"I'll be off to bed, then," Mr Weasley said, walking towards the stairs. He turned to look at the girls and smiled tiredly at them, "Have a good night, girls. You can both sleep in Ginny's room, it's the only one that's been cleaned out properly."

"Thank you," Hermione said, smiling back at him.

"Walk?" Ginny asked as her father walked up the stairs.

Hermione nodded, "Yeah. I just need to get some fresh air."

The pair of them walked out the back door, heading up towards one of the hills just outside of the Burrow's limits.

"Are you alright?" Ginny asked, nudging her gently as they walked up the hill.

Hermione nodded, "I'm fine. Obviously I didn't mean to tell your parents about what Ron did, but I think it went better than I expected. Are you okay?"

"Oh, you know. Not entirely happy that mum did what I expected her to do, but at least she's stopped telling me that I should try to work it out with him."

"So, we're alright," Hermione summed up as they reached the summit of the hill, gazing up at the sky.

"I suppose so," Ginny agreed with her, gazing up as well. "We should have brought a rug to sit on."

Hermione smiled, pulling her wand out from her pocket. Ginny laughed softly,

"Right, sorry."

"And I thought I was the muggle," Hermione said, grinning at her. She summoned a rug, which came flying out of the house, making its way up to them. Hermione caught it and spread it out on the ground, and the two women sat down.

"I'm not entirely sure what to do now," Ginny said softly, pulling her knees to her chest to hug them tightly.

Hermione frowned, turning her head to look at her, "What do you mean?"

"It seems as though most of the drama is out of the way now," Ginny said, sighing slightly. "We just have to wait for the kids to come back before we tell them. I don't think we should tell them while they're at school, it'd just be unnecessary stress."

"I agree," Hermione said, lying down on her back. "We'll go away in May, and be back at the beginning of June to get things ready for them."

Ginny nodded, lying down next to her. "I can't wait to get away from here," she said softly, sighing heavily.

"I know what you mean," Hermione said, sighing as well.

"Is that Hydra over there?" Ginny asked, pointing towards the north at the stars.

Hermione laughed at the random question, "No, that's Draco. Hydra's behind us at the moment. Shouldn't you have remembered the constellations from Hogwarts?"

"Probably, but Hydra and Draco are both snakes so they have similar forms," Ginny said, turning her head to grin sheepishly at Hermione.

The brunette laughed again, "Fair enough. Why do you ask?"

"We can't see the stars in London," Ginny said, looking back up at the sky. "I haven't been out here at night for so long that I forgot how beautiful they are."

"There is a certain majesty about the night sky, full of stars," Hermione murmured, tracing out Ursa Major with her eyes.

"I always had this fantasy of taking someone out here to lie with them and make love underneath the night sky," Ginny said, sighing slightly.

Hermione felt her stomach lurch suddenly, immediately biting down on her bottom lip and trying desperately to keep certain images from entering her mind. She took a deep breath and sighed, "It is quite romantic out here."

_Good job, she can't tell you want that person to be you at all._

'_Shut up, shut up, shut up,'_ Hermione thought furiously, wishing that she could punch her conscience into silence.

"Do you have any fantasies like that?" Ginny asked, turning onto her side and propping her head up on her hand, resting her elbow against the ground.

Hermione laughed nervously, "No, I don't think so."

Ginny grinned, "Come on, Hermione. Everyone has at least one fantasy."

Hermione shrugged, "Not really."

"I bet I can guess," Ginny said, rolling back down to lie on her back, seeming to contemplate the topic of conversation very seriously.

"I bet you can't," Hermione replied, sitting up slightly to look sideways at her.

"How much do you bet me?" Ginny asked, grinning as she sat up slightly as well.

Hermione bit down on her bottom lip and smiled nervously, "No, I don't want to risk anything, now."

"Why not?"

"Because you're the only one who's ever been able to read my mind, or something to that effect," Hermione said reasonably, lying back down and crossing her arms across her chest.

Ginny laughed softly, "That is true. Alright, you don't have to bet me anything. I'll just guess for the fun of it."

Hermione snorted, "Go ahead."

Ginny looked at her, frowning for a moment, before smiling widely, "I'm going to have to say the Library at Hogwarts."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "That's not very original, Ginny."

"Hey, I'm not finished," Ginny said, holding up a hand at her. "You'd go into the Restricted Section with... I'm going to have to say a girl." She paused, thinking hard. "And you'd probably completely forget about the option of silencing charms, just to make the experience a little more dangerous."

"I don't like you, sometimes," Hermione pouted, looking away from the beautiful redhead, who had just guessed exactly what her favourite fantasy was.

Ginny grinned and poked Hermione in the side, "I was right?"

"You know you were right."

The redhead laughed softly, "I suppose I'm just amazing like that." She lay back down next to Hermione, shifting a little closer to her. "It's a pretty hot fantasy, to be honest."

Hermione grinned and nudged her gently, "I know."

Ginny laughed again and nudged her back, "Been using that fantasy lately, Hermione?"

_You haven't really had to, have you?_

Hermione sighed at the voice, ignoring it, "Not really."

"Haven't you been thinking about girls lately?"

"Just the one time," Hermione said quickly.

Ginny grinned, rolling over to half-straddle her, "Come on, Hermione, it's me."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Alright, I did it in the shower too. But I wasn't fantasizing about the Library."

"Why not?" Ginny asked, not moving from her position, looking down at her intently.

Hermione shrugged slightly, "I don't like to use it too much."

"Okay, so what were you thinking about those two times?" she asked, smirking down at her.

Hermione shifted uncomfortably beneath Ginny's weight, "Gin..."

"I'll tell you what I thought about when I got frustrated when I was with Harry," Ginny said quickly. "Please?"

Hermione sighed heavily, "Alright, fine." She paused, looking up at Ginny thoughtfully. "Well, the first time, it just sort of happened. I wasn't really thinking about anything specific, just the way it would feel," she said slowly, now avoiding Ginny's gaze by staring straight up at the sky.

"And the second time?"

Hermione smiled slightly, "That happened when I was getting ready for the party. I stepped into the shower and the water felt so good, and Ron wasn't there, so I could just let go." She paused again, looking back up at Ginny. "I just imagined that we were in the shower, that she was kissing me and telling me that everything would be okay. She pushed me up against the cold, wet wall, and started to suck on my neck, her fingers trailing down my body to touch me."

There was another short pause, in which Ginny watched Hermione thoughtfully, making her wonder exactly what she was thinking. She suddenly realised that Ginny hadn't moved from her position on top of her, and that her thigh was resting quite comfortably in that _spot_ where Hermione had fucked herself, thinking about the youngest Weasley girl.

"That's it," Hermione said quickly, beginning to feel acutely aware of the pressure that was mounting in her lower abdomen, caused by their closeness, and by the memory of what it felt like to fantasize about her.

Ginny smiled, "No, it's not."

Hermione sighed, "After I finished, I sat down in the shower and cried."

Ginny frowned, "Why?"

"I'm pretty sure that I'll never be able to enjoy that kind of closeness with her."

Ginny sighed as well, lowering herself down to cuddle into Hermione's side, leaving her leg in between hers. "She's a stupid idiot, then, if she refused your advances."

Hermione laughed softly, "And if she's straight?"

"No one's completely, and utterly straight," Ginny said reasonably, resting her head on Hermione's shoulder. "Besides, it should be about the personality and connection, rather than gender."

Hermione frowned, turning her head to face Ginny. What was she saying?

_That's she's gayer than the day is long!_

'_Shut up,' _Hermione thought furiously, turning her head to look back up at the sky. _'She was married for fifteen years.'_

_So were you, and you've clearly got a giant hard-on for the woman who's cuddling you at the moment._

"I don't know why people get so uptight about sexuality," Ginny said softly, resting her hand on Hermione's stomach and pulling her a little closer. "Love is love, why would it ever be a bad thing?"

"Because it's different," Hermione replied, her free hand finding its way up to the one Ginny was resting on her stomach. "People are always scared of what they perceive to be different. Why do you think the Wizarding World is kept a secret to the majority of the Muggle World?"

They linked fingers, and both women sighed at the same time.

"I know that this sounds terrible," Ginny murmured, running her thumb up and down Hermione's gently, "But I wish we didn't marry Harry and Ron."

"It only sounds terrible because we have children," Hermione murmured back, beginning to feel very sleepy. "I wish we could stay here and not have to bother with anyone else."

"I know."

"We should probably go back to the house," Hermione said, nudging Ginny gently.

The redhead sighed again and nodded, taking her leg out from between Hermione's and sitting up, "Alright. I'm quite tired, to be honest."

"Me too," Hermione said, sitting up as well. She looked sideways at Ginny and smiled at her, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being there."

Ginny smiled back at her and leaned in close to kiss her cheek tenderly. "Like I said, anything you need," she murmured to her ear. Then, she pulled back and stood up, holding out a hand for the brunette. "Come on, we should sleep before tomorrow. We have a long day ahead of looking at apartments."

* * *

"You never told me what you used to fantasize about," Hermione said suddenly, sitting up in the bed and _not_ watching Ginny change.

The redhead laughed as she pulled her shirt over her head, "Sorry, I totally forgot about that." She turned away from Hermione as she undid her bra, shrugging it off and pulling a t-shirt over her head. Hermione felt her breath catch in her throat as the redhead did so, catching a slight glimpse of the side of her breast as she leaned down to pick her t-shirt up off the ground.

She regained her composure as Ginny turned back around, "So?"

"Well, the last time I did that was this morning in the shower," Ginny said thoughtfully, undoing her jeans and pushing them down.

"What?" Hermione asked, her breath catching in her throat again at the mere thought of Ginny doing... _that _in such close proximity.

Ginny laughed again, "Yeah, you really worked me up with all those moves you were pulling in your sleep." She winked at the brunette, grinning at her and stepping out of her jeans.

Hermione blushed furiously, looking away from her, "Sorry."

"Don't be," Ginny said, crossing the room to the bed and climbing in next to her. "I hadn't really felt the need to do that in a while, it was nice."

"How long is a while?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A few months, at the most, I suppose," Ginny said, shrugging.

"Really?"

"Yeah. It was nice to finally feel like I wanted to again." She smiled at the older woman, "So really, I should be thanking you."

Hermione grinned nervously and shrugged, "I suppose you're welcome."

Ginny grinned back at her and nudged her slightly, "Do you want to know what I was thinking about?"

"Well, I told you, so you should tell me."

"Very logical," Ginny said, winking at her. "I was actually thinking about you."

"What?" Hermione exclaimed, looking at her with wide eyes, her stomach feeling as though it was about to jump out of her body.

"Don't freak out, it's entirely normal, especially since you were the one who made me feel like I needed to do that," Ginny said quickly.

Hermione squeaked softly in response, the blush in her cheeks darkening.

Ginny smiled, "Do you still want to know what I thought about?"

Hermione nodded meekly, looking sideways at her, unable to stop curiosity from overwhelming her extreme embarrassment.

"Well, do you remember what happened right before that room service guy came in?"

"How could I forget?"

Ginny laughed, "Yes, well, I thought about doing that, except we went much further than me simply tackling you down onto the bed."

Hermione bit her lip, staring down at her hands, fidgeting with the hem of the blanket. She didn't try to say anything, for fear of not being able to actually speak.

"In the fantasy, the room service guy did not make an appearance," Ginny said, grinning as she nudged Hermione.

The brunette couldn't help smiling through her embarrassment, nudging the redhead back. "You don't like to share, huh?"

"Of course I don't," Ginny scoffed at her, sliding down in the bed to lie on her side, facing Hermione. "I get jealous, and I like focusing my attention on one person."

Hermione nodded, trying to avoid Ginny's gaze.

"Do you want me to go and sleep in one of the boys' rooms?" Ginny asked, frowning up at her.

"No," Hermione said immediately, "No, I'm sorry. I just never thought that you'd think about me like that."

Ginny shrugged, "Should I not have told you?"

Hermione laughed softly, "It's okay. Just a bit of a shock. Listen, when did you plan on seeing the Harpies about going away?"

_Oh good job, a quick change of subject, she won't suspect anything at all._

'_Shut up!'_

"Tomorrow, after we finish looking at houses. Hopefully we'll find something tomorrow so that we can leave for Paris the following day," Ginny said, breaking the argument Hermione was having in her head.

"I don't know if we'll find something tomorrow, sometimes it takes a while to find the right place."

"I have a good feeling about tomorrow," Ginny said, winking at her. "Don't stress, Hermione, we'll be out of England soon."

"I hope so," Hermione muttered.

"Come on, let's go to sleep," Ginny said, yawning slightly. "We have a big day tomorrow."

Hermione nodded, sliding down in the bed to lie next to Ginny, facing her. "I just can't wait for all of this to be over," she murmured, resting her head on the pillow and closing her eyes.

"You and me, both," Ginny replied, rolling over onto her back and staring up at the ceiling. She looked over at Hermione and smiled, "Come here."

Hermione opened her eyes and smiled back at her, shifting a little closer to cuddle into her side, resting her arm across Ginny's middle, and slipping a leg in between hers. Ginny pulled her close and kissed her temple gently, her lips lingering for perhaps a second longer than they should have. Hermione sighed softly, leaning into her and closing her eyes.

* * *

When Hermione woke up the next morning, they were in the same position that they'd fallen asleep in. She smiled slightly, snuggling a little closer to the redhead, remembering with a small shock that she was only wearing underwear.

'_Oh, who freaking cares, I'm comfortable,' _Hermione thought to herself, shifting her leg slightly so she could feel Ginny's soft skin move up against hers.

The little voice didn't bother responding, so she smiled again, resting her hand down on Ginny's hip, tracing tiny little circles on the small patch of skin between her t-shirt and underwear.

Suddenly, she heard someone screaming downstairs. She sat up slightly, frowning at the door, and wondering what on earth was going on.

"She's making a howler," Ginny murmured, looking up at Hermione sleepily, with a slightly irritated look on her face.

"Oh," Hermione said, lying back down and resting her head on Ginny's shoulder. "Couldn't she have waited until a decent time?"

Ginny laughed softly, "Mum's up at six o'clock every morning, I'm surprised that she waited this long."

"At least we know that Ron's getting what's coming to him," Hermione said, sighing slightly.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked, frowning down at her slightly.

Hermione looked up at her and smiled, nodding, "I'm fine, as long as I don't have to see him for a while."

"Well, you don't have to see him for as long as you want," Ginny said, throwing a glare towards the door.

"Thank goodness," the brunette murmured, tightening her grip around Ginny's waist. "What's the time?"

"Almost nine o'clock. We should get up and get ready soon," Ginny said, sighing slightly.

"We're seeing the first apartment at ten thirty," Hermione grumbled. "Half an hour more."

Ginny laughed softly, "We're not going to get much more sleep with my mother yelling downstairs. Come on, we should shower and then eat."

"Fine," Hermione sighed, rolling off Ginny and sitting up. "But you're making me breakfast."

Ginny laughed again and sat up, leaning in to kiss her cheek gently, "I see you're just as petulant as I am in the morning."

Hermione poked her tongue out at her in response, making her laugh again as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up.

"I do enjoy it when we act like teenagers again," she said, grinning at her as she walked towards her open suitcase to find some trousers.

Hermione smiled, unabashedly looking at her arse as she bent down to pick a pair up and pull them on. "It does make me forget about everything, even if it's for a moment."

Ginny turned around, forcing Hermione to flick her eyes up quickly to her face, "We'll act like teenagers as much as we possibly can when we go away, then." She winked at the brunette and grinned again, "Come on, I'm hungry."

* * *

To be continued...

**A/N: I realise that the top A/N is quite long, but if you care at all about the gay rights movement, please read it.**

**Alex**


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

**A/N: So, it's been a while. I can't apologise enough about the extended pause on this story... Like I've said in my most recent updates, this past year has been an incredibly busy one. That, and I received a review on the last chapter that made me incredibly angry... I think it may have had an effect on my inspiration, which is stupid because normally I don't let reviews like that get to me. There is a response to that review after this chapter, that insults Twilight (Twilight-lovers, you are warned), so if you have no interest in that, just skip the bolded part at the very end.**

**Anyway! I'm very pleased to present to you Chapter 13 of Unfamiliar Spell. It may go a little too far towards the end, but this is just where the words took me, and I like it... This is dedicated to the lovely Olivia, who will be having a birthday in a couple weeks time. If I don't update on here before then... Happy Birthday gorgeous! Thank you for being an amazing muse :)**

**Apologies for any mistakes, this has not been beta-ed! Please remember to review after you read guys, only ten more reviews before we hit the big 300!**

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**Unfamiliar Spell**

Hermione and Ginny spent much of that day seeing apartments. Both women were starting to feel a strange sort of despair that the whole process would take much longer than they'd hoped, before the real estate agent led them to the last apartment of the day.

"So, this one has four bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen and dining room, and a large living area," she said, unlocking the front door and walking through. "The price is a little more than you wanted to spend, but there is enough room for you and your children when they come to stay."

Hermione nodded, walking past the real estate agent through to the rest of the apartment, with Ginny following with a dejected look on her face.

"I don't know if..." Ginny started to say, trailing off as she entered the living room and looking around in awe. It was huge.

"You don't know if what?" Hermione asked, looking around and frowning slightly. She looked back at Ginny to find her with a dazed grin on her face. Hermione smiled slightly, "Gin?"

"This is it," she said quietly, so the agent couldn't hear. "I don't care if it's more than we wanted to spend, I'll make it up. This is it."

"Don't make any rash decisions until we've seen every room, okay?" Hermione said, still smiling at her.

Ginny nodded, walking off to inspect the other rooms, while Hermione walked to the windows facing down onto the street. There was a small balcony out there, and when she opened the doors and stepped out onto it, she realised she could see the dome of St Paul's Cathedral in the distance. She sighed and grinned happily to herself, leaning forward on the railing; this was it.

* * *

An hour later, the papers were signed and Hermione and Ginny were handed the keys to their new home together.

"I can't believe it!" Ginny exclaimed as soon as they were outside, jumping on Hermione and hugging her tightly. "I can't believe we found the perfect place!"

Hermione laughed, hugging her back, "I know."

"The only thing I have to do now is talk to the team and we can go!" Ginny squealed, pulling back and kissing her cheek, grinning happily at her.

Hermione laughed again, "Alright. What are we going to do now, then?"

"Well, it's almost dinner time, and I know where a lot of the girls go to for dinner. We can go there to eat and I'll talk to them!"

"You're so excited," Hermione said, grinning at the younger woman.

"I just can't wait to get out of this country and see some of the rest of the world," Ginny said, taking Hermione's hand and pulling her down the street. "Seriously, Harry never wanted to travel, and mum and dad could never afford to take us overseas."

"Well, tomorrow we'll go straight to the Ministry and organise the trip."

"I'm so happy we're doing this. It's going to be so good to get away for a while, I just wish we could leave now," she said, smiling happily and squeezing Hermione's hand.

Hermione smiled back at her, "It does feel good to know we'll be out of here soon."

"So, let's go quickly to tell the girls," Ginny said impatiently, tugging on Hermione's hand.

The brunette smiled, "Alright, alright. Lead the way!"

* * *

"Hey Pete, are the girls here yet?" Ginny asked the bartender as she led Hermione through the small pub towards the back.

"A few of them are," he replied, smiling at her. "How are you, Ginny? We haven't seen you in a while."

"I'm good, I just need to talk to them. I don't suppose we could get some food brought around to us?"

"For the star chaser on the Holyhead Harpies, anything," he said, winking at her.

"Thanks," she said, smiling at him. Taking hold of Hermione's hand again, they both made their way through to the back of the pub, where a small group of women were sitting around a booth.

"Ginny!" one of them exclaimed, standing up and rushing over to hug her tightly. "What're you doing here? I thought Harry wasn't letting you out of the house."

Ginny smiled grimly, "That's kind of what I'm here to talk to you about, Gail. Are the others coming?"

"They should be here soon. Let's sit and we can chat until they get here. How've you been, Hermione?"

"I'm fine," Hermione said, smiling at her. "You?"

"Great. Can't wait for the season to start back up again, I'm getting bored," she said, smiling happily at her.

* * *

Half an hour later, the rest of the team had shown up, and Hermione and Ginny had scoffed down the fish and chips that the bartender had brought them. Soon enough, it was time for Ginny to tell the girls what was going on.

"So, I've got a little announcement to make," Ginny said, looking at the team seriously.

"Is everything okay?" one of them asked, frowning at her slightly.

"It will be," Ginny said, smiling at her. "I've left Harry."

There was a small silence before Gail said, "Thank God, it's about time."

"Gail!" one of them exclaimed, smacking her arm softly.

"Oh come on, Gwen, we're all thinking it."

"It's okay, guys," Ginny said quickly, "Gail's right, it's about time."

"What happened?" Gwen asked, leaning forward and looking concerned.

"He's been cheating," Ginny said, shrugging slightly. "So, I'm done."

"Good on you," Gail said, smiling at her. "He wasn't good enough for you anyway."

Ginny smiled weakly back at her, "So you say about every guy."

"If he's not going to respect you enough to the point where he'd keep it in his pants, then he's a dickhead, and he doesn't deserve you," Hermione said quietly, glancing at Gail as she spoke.

Ginny nudged Hermione gently, letting her hand drop down to her knee and squeezed it gently. Hermione smiled slightly, placing her hand on top of Ginny's.

"Was that all you wanted to tell us?" one of Ginny's teammates asked, smirking slightly as they all watched Hermione and Ginny together.

"Well, we wanted to tell you before the papers got wind of it," Ginny said reasonably, tearing her eyes away from Hermione's, "but I also wanted to get away from everything for a month. Hermione and I plan on taking a holiday on the mainland."

"Without Ron?" Gail asked.

"Well, that's the other thing," Ginny said slowly.

"I've left Ron as well," Hermione said, shrugging slightly.

"So, you two are finally single again!" Gail exclaimed, smiling widely and clapping her hands together.

"Yes, and we'll be single for a little while longer," Ginny said, laughing softly and shaking her head at her teammate. "In any case, I just wanted to let you guys know that I won't be coming to practice for a month."

"That's alright, I'm sure we'll manage without you for a month. Do the kids know yet?"

Ginny sighed heavily and shook her head, "No, but we're both hoping that they won't hear anything about it at Hogwarts until we get back home."

"Well, we'll keep this information under our hats, so don't you worry about that. When did you plan on leaving?"

"Tomorrow," the redhead said, smiling happily. "Paris, Barcelona, Rome and Athens. I'll be back in time for the summer training."

"Take as much time as you want," Gwen said, looking at her sympathetically.

"I think this calls for a celebration," Gail said, gesturing to one of the waiters. "A round for everyone here on my tab, please, and keep them coming."

Ginny grinned and looked at Hermione, "I suppose we can stay for a drink or two."

"We both need a drink after the past few days," Hermione said, smiling back at her.

* * *

After a few more than two drinks, Hermione and Ginny stumbled out of the pub, giggling and holding onto each other for support.

"I haven't drunk like that since I was in my twenties," Hermione said happily, accidentally bumping into Ginny as they stepped out onto the pavement, and almost causing both of them to fall over.

"Careful, Hermione," Ginny giggled, "We don't want to fall over and break our necks right before we go on our trip."

"I used to be able to handle my alcohol much better than this," Hermione muttered thoughtfully, focusing very hard on the ground in front of her as they wandered down the street.

Ginny snorted, "I don't remember you ever being able to handle your alcohol."

"Hey!" Hermione exclaimed, punching her in the shoulder and stumbling again. "I used to be very good at it."

"What about the time when you decided to try and teach Ron how to levitate again, but ended up sending everything flying to the other side of the room?" Ginny asked, giggling at the memory.

"I did not!" Hermione exclaimed, glaring through blurry eyes at Ginny.

"Did too, you accidentally gave Harry a cut on his forehead next to his scar."

"I do not remember that," Hermione murmured, frowning heavily.

"The next day you woke up with a splitting headache and asked everyone why they had to make such a mess of your living room," Ginny pointed out, grinning widely as Hermione stopped walking to think very hard.

"Oh!" the brunette exclaimed again after a second, "I just thought that someone had decided to play a game of Quidditch in there."

"Well, we did that too, but you were the one who caused most of the mess," Ginny said, smiling as she put an arm around Hermione's shoulders.

Hermione giggled and leaned into the redhead, "Alright, so a good amount of alcohol doesn't necessarily agree with me. But at least I'm a happy drunk."

"That's true. How are we going to get home?"

"We could apparate," Hermione suggested.

Ginny laughed, "Not in the state we're in."

"Then we should floo home, we just have to go back to the pub," the brunette said, spinning the pair of them around to walk back to the pub.

"I hope we'll be okay to travel tomorrow," Ginny said as they almost stumbled again.

"We'll be fine," Hermione said, patting her stomach reassuringly. "We just need to sleep."

* * *

"I just remembered why I hate flooing," Ginny grumbled as she stumbled out of the fireplace at the Burrow a little while later.

Hermione giggled as she helped her up, "It's better than splinching ourselves."

"Yeah, but now I'm all sooty," the redhead sighed, inspecting her clothing.

"Then let's have a shower before going to bed," Hermione suggested, yawning widely as they began to make their way up the stairs towards Ginny's room.

"Together?" Ginny asked as she followed Hermione.

"What?" Hermione asked, stopping in her tracks and turning to look down at the redhead.

The redhead grinned sheepishly, "If we showered together it'd be done quicker."

Hermione bit her lip, "But you'd see me naked."

Ginny snorted at her, "I've seen you naked before."

"When have you seen me naked?!"

"Shhh," Ginny shushed her, suddenly remembering that her parents were asleep, and pushing her to make her continue walking up the stairs.

"When have you seen me naked?" Hermione repeated, whispering the question very loudly.

"Well, we shared a room every summer from when I was eleven. And whenever you got too drunk when we were a little younger, I always had to help you get ready for bed," Ginny said reasonably, following Hermione into her room once they'd made it to the landing. "Oh, and you've seen me naked too!"

Hermione frowned, "I do not remember that."

"Your memory is really terrible when you're drunk," Ginny muttered, closing the door behind them and beginning to undress. "You accidentally walked in on me in the shower a couple years ago, that must've been the last time."

"Oh," Hermione mumbled, the memory flying to the forefront of her mind, making her go very red in the face.

_No wonder it was easy to fantasize about her, you've already seen her in all her glory._

"Shut up," Hermione muttered, glaring down at the ground.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing," the brunette said quickly. "I think I'll just shower in the morning."

"Is this because you might be a lesbian?" Ginny asked suspiciously, having already removed her trousers and shirt, and was now struggling to undo her bra.

"I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable," Hermione insisted, turning away from her.

"Hermione, I shower with women whenever I play Quidditch. And half of them are lesbians," she added, frowning heavily as she continued to try to remove her bra. "Ugh, could you help me with this?"

Hermione sighed as she turned around to help Ginny undo her bra, immediately closing her eyes as the redhead pulled it off and tossed it to the ground. "It's okay, I'll just shower in the morning."

Ginny shrugged, "Alright, if you insist. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Hermione opened her eyes in relief as she heard Ginny walk out the room and close the door behind her, beginning to get undressed too.

_Why on earth didn't you go shower with her?!_

'_Because that's the worst idea in the whole fucking world. As if I'd be able to keep my hands off her,'_ Hermione thought furiously, yanking her shirt over her head and pushing her trousers down after she kicked her shoes off.

_Maybe that's what she wanted._

'_I'm not going to let you make me think that she wants to fuck in the shower. We're both completely smashed, she just wasn't thinking properly.'_

_Whatever, you just missed out on an opportunity to fulfil your fantasy._

Hermione sighed angrily as she popped her own bra open easily and shrugged it off.

Quite suddenly, the door opened and Ginny came rushing back into the room. Hermione froze, watching the half naked woman cross the room to her wardrobe, searching through it for something.

"I forgot my towel," Ginny said, smiling brightly at Hermione as she pulled it out and slung it over her shoulder.

Hermione bit her lip and nodded silently, not able to stop her eyes from trailing down from the redhead's face to her beautifully naked chest. Her breasts were small, but perky, and her pink nipples were hardened, probably from the cool air that was flowing in through the slightly open window. The brunette swallowed as the redhead began to walk towards her, entirely unable to tear her eyes away from the delicious sight before her.

"Are you sure that you don't want to come have a shower?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips and raising an eyebrow at her.

"Uh, n-no, I'm fine," Hermione stuttered, finally looking up at her face.

Ginny smiled and shrugged, "Alright," before turning away to walk back to the bathroom. "Oh, by the way," she said, before leaving the room and turning back to look at her, "I like yours too." She smirked as she unabashedly looked at Hermione's naked chest, before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

_WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!_

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To be continued...

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**A/N: Ok, this is the aforementioned response to that review...**

**Normally, I wouldn't bother responding to an anonymous review that I didn't agree with, especially not within an A/N in a chapter. But the one left by "kino" last chapter left me feeling quite angry and insulted.**

**I realise that with the phenomenon of Twilight, a whole generation has had their literary lives ruined. I seriously doubt that many of the people who actually think that Twilight is a work of literary genius (as the author seems to think, when she compared it to classics like Pride and Prejudice, and Romeo and Juliet) understand what really goes in to setting a plot up. All that I have written here is to set up what happens later. If you have a problem with what's happened so far, especially with Harry's cheating, and Ron's inability to restrain himself, then maybe you shouldn't be reading this story. If you want a story where everything's all fine and dandy, then wander off to read some more Twatlight fiction. Yes, perhaps these two characters, in particular, are out of character. But what "kino" clearly doesn't understand is that this is a literary technique, used to set the rest of the story up. The assumption that I am taking my hatred of men out on these two characters is absurd, and incredibly insulting. You don't know me, or my motivations behind this story, so perhaps you should keep your "honest opinion" to yourself. The very idea that Hermione and Ginny have forgotten about their children is completely stupid, especially when they talk about them almost every time they're alone together. I'm a child of divorce, so I probably understand better than most people what kind of effect this has on families, and I would never dream of excluding the children from Hermione and Ginny's minds, or from this story.**

**If what you wanted to do was insult me, and devalue my hard work on this 40000+ word story, then well done. Your review was not constructive criticism, and it was hardly reflective of someone who'd actually read the story properly, or of someone who understands prose. Here's a little advice; grow up before you try to give an "insightful" review again. You insulted me and my work, not only by assuming that I hate all men (just because I'm a lesbian does not mean in any way that I hate men – I just don't want to sleep with them), but by commenting on aspects of the story that do not exist. If you don't bother to read the damn story properly, then don't try to tell me how I can "improve" it.**

**kino, if you would like a more detailed response to your review, then by all means, email me. I have much more that I would like to say, but shouldn't since this is supposed to be a new chapter.**

**Many apologies for the above, ladies and gentlemen... I hope you're all still around to tell me what you think of the story! Thanks for reading :)**

**Alex**


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